Imperfect Perfection
by discursive
Summary: FINALLY HAS AN ENDING. Sequel to A Light in the Dark. Spans over the summer following the groups first year of college. Mostly Massie x Landon. Complete.
1. ChapterOne: Red Dirt Road

_**Imperfect Perfection**_

**Author's Note: Welcome to the sequel of **_**A Light in the dark**_**! Obviously, this is the summer that is started on the last chapter of ALITD. So, the summary is right down there. It's best to read ALITD before reading this if you haven't read it. I'm working on making this story longer. And yes, all the place below tie in somehow. Enjoy… **

**Summary:**

_The gang is back in Westchester County, more specifically White Plains, New York. After their first year in college, Massie and Landon have confessed their love and are going strong. _

_This summer is filled with Montana, New York, Florida Cruises, and the drama. Will Landon be jealous of Massie's old Montana friend? What happens when the unexpected couple shows up on the cruise? Relationships are being put to the test. Friends are living it up. Grandparents are giving out their advice. _

_This is going to be one interesting summer…_

…

**Chapter One: Red Dirt Road**

**...**

**White Plains, New York  
>Westchester County Airport<br>Wednesday, June 20  
>5:49a.m.<strong>

**MB;**

"You really didn't have to come, you know. The others said goodbye last night," I noted. Landon looked at me with a raised eyebrow.

"Actually, I did have to come, under my own judgment. Either way you have to go through security now," he replied, giving a little sigh.

That morning, despite my protests, he'd shown up to take me to the airport where I'd be flying to Glacier Park International Airport in Kalispell, Montana. My grandparents had moved from New York to somewhere quieter, more reserved.

"I know…"

He leaned down and wrapped me in one of those gentle hugs. Our goodbyes were short and sweet, not even containing the word "goodbye" at all.

"Remember to call me when your flight lands and you get settled in," he instructed.

"I know, I won't forget." Landon had become slightly more protective after an interesting showdown with Claire back in May. Plus, it was a normal instruction anyway.

"I still love you, ever since January," he reminded in a whisper.

"I love you too, ever since January. I'll call you when it lands. Be careful when you hit that New York morning traffic."

"Sure…"

With the accustomed parting kiss (Weren't you expecting it?), I went through security and got everything checked in, settling down in one of the chairs for the next twenty minutes or so before takeoff.

I'd had two options, a flight that didn't get in until almost midnight, but left a little after noon; or there was the flight that left at about six-thirty in the morning, but got in around two-ish.

My section was called to board. I got up and took in my purse (not actually having a carryon, just the duffels) and took my seat quietly. An elderly man sat down next to me and introduced himself, as we'd be sitting together for over six hours. I'd been lucky enough to get a straight through and not have to deal with layovers.

His name was Arnold. At first I was just being polite, introducing myself and making small talk, but throughout the ride, I began to get interested with some of his old war stories, as he was a veteran. We talked for a few hours before it just kind of faded to a comfortable silence. I yawned, fighting sleep and failing miserably.

…

At noon, Arnie, as he seemed to like being called, gently woke me up, saying that they were serving some sort of airplane food. I wasn't exactly sure if it was edible, but it turned out to be, thankfully. That one comedian line that I never quite understood came into my mind: _So, how about that airplane food? _

"So, are you visiting someone in Kalispell?" I asked curiously, taking a bite of the sandwich thing.

"No, I actually just finished visiting my daughter in New York; I live in Kalispell," he corrected with one of those gentleman smiles. His eyes crinkled at the corners, a slight twinkle in his light grey eyes.

"Really? Do you know a Clementine Block?" I inquired, remembering my grandma's tales of all the friendly neighbors. She lived a little bit farther back in the town than most, settled into a gorgeous old Victorian-style home.

"In fact I do, she's a lovely lady."

"She's my grandmother."

"Come to think of it, your name does sound familiar…"

We chatted more for the rest of the flight. He really was an interesting old gentleman. The flight landed with no complications. I got off of the plane after bidding a farewell and a possible see-you-again to Arnold, heading in the direction of the luggage carousel.

My grandpa, Wendel, was waiting for me. His white/grey hair was still as smooth and half-there as ever, smile lighting up his face at the sight of me: his only grandchild. Layne hadn't had any children yet, but I believe that she had one on the way… She was thirty against my father and mother's forty-one.

"Massie, it's been too long. I've missed you, kid," he greeted, giving me one of those soft hugs.

"Hey Gramps, I've missed you too." My duffels came by and I snatched them quickly. Together, we made our way out to their old Toyota, stowing the bags in the bed of the truck.

The drive back to their house was filled with chattering of what-have-you-been-up-to's and how-are-you-doing's.

I could really see why they called it Big Sky country, silently wondering my dad's old guitar was here. He'd taught me how to play when I was younger. But the older I got, the more he'd embraced his work and I rarely saw the fun-loving guy he used to be.

We pulled into the driveway, the sight of the gorgeous house taking my breath away, just like every time. It had a big wraparound porch and was painted a pale yellow, Clementine's favorite. There was a garden along the edges beside the steps, filled with different wildflowers that grew. A weeping willow towered in the backyard, along with a familiar and very old oak tree in the front.

I climbed down out of the truck, a smile gracing my face as I looked around at the house. My grandfather helped me grab my bags, insisting on carrying at least one, and then taking them both upstairs to put in what had been declared as my room when I was younger.

Clementine came bustling out of the kitchen wiping her hands on an apron. "Massie, darling!" She came forwards and wrapped me in one of her unnaturally strong hugs.

"Hey gramma, it's good to see you too," I managed to squeak out. She let me go and held my shoulders to observe me. It had been just over a year and she was convinced that either I grew or she shrunk. (It was probably the latter.)

Wendel came back down and followed us into the kitchen with his nose. "I smell cookies," he announced triumphantly, coming into the kitchen and moving towards the plate.

With one swift motion, Clementine got his hand with a kitchen towel and told him that he had to wait. She turned her back to get something and he gave me a wink before grabbing a cookie and hurrying out of sight of my grandmother.

"Did he take one again?" she asked, turning around. I think I got my attitude from Clementine…

"Why would you think that?" I asked innocently, reaching for one myself. She shook her head, making the white hair pulled into a bun on her head sway a little.

"I would think so because he does every time and is convinced I don't notice…"

"Ah, I see now."

After the aforementioned and usual chattering, I finally switched into a more natural mode while observing the kitchen. There were white wooden cabinets and counters, along with the brightly-colored tile on the wall between said cabinets (that were up near the ceiling) and counters. The actual counter-tops were some sort of stone, likely granite or something similar.

"How come you never told me about Arnold?" I asked curiously, disguising the yawn I had coming with a drink of lemonade. Like any other person, I managed to get jet lag, but just held off for a while. It was nearing three-thirty in the afternoon at that point.

"You've met Arnold?" Clementine asked, leaning against the counter. She'd abandoned the apron, having finally been done with her welcoming cookies and fresh lemonade.

"On the plane actually, I sat next to him. He's a pretty cool old man." I chuckled.

"Ah yes, he lives down the street a ways, he comes over sometimes, as Wendel and I go over. Your grandfather and Arnold seem to be good friends," she mused.

"I see, he told me some stories. They were really interesting. I'm going to write down what I remember later, so I can always have it."

"I think that sounds like a good idea, but for now you should go and get some rest. Don't think that lemonade can disguise your jet lag," Clementine urged with a grandmotherly smile.

I smiled back and thanked her before heading up to "my" bedroom. The walls were a dusty rose and there was a window seat overlooking the backyard. The furniture was in dark cherry wood and the curtains were a sheer white. I slipped off the flats I'd been wearing and scooped up my phone, remembering the promised call to Landon.

With a bit of unnecessary nostalgia, I dialed the familiar number and held the phone between my shoulder and ear while combing through my hair.

"Hello?" that deep voice answered, being slightly changed from the real thing thanks to the phone.

"Landon?"

"…Massie?"

"Did you're caller ID break?" I inquired, pulling my hair up into a ponytail. The light sweatshirt I was wearing was a little hard to get off, but I managed it while switching the phone between ears.

"No, but I didn't look at it either. And my phone was on vibrate so I couldn't hear your ringtone. Anyways, how is it?" he asked.

"It's… beautiful. I can see where the state nickname came from," I relayed, lounging and the bed and cradling my iPhone in my hand against my ear at that point.

"I'm glad you like it. Alicia demanded that I tell you to take pictures whenever I next talked to you." I had an image of him shaking his head and grinning slightly like he would whenever a statement like that happened.

"Planning on it." Another yawn came on. Even with the hour or so nap on the plane, I was still tired with the two hour jet lag. I pulled the phone away from my head in hopes that Landon wouldn't hear it.

"Massie, I'm not stupid; I know that you just yawned."

"How?"

"First things first, the word "how" is kind of a confession. And then there's always the fact that I heard it fading 'cause you didn't pull the iPhone away fast enough," he noted.

"Darn."

"Get some rest. If you're having trouble sleeping, just call me."

"Fine then, I'll talk to you within the next twenty-four hours. Have a fun night."

"You do the same, but don't forget about us… or go flirting."

I chuckled. "I'll try not to," I teased. After a quick goodbye, I hung up and curled up against the bed, willing myself to rest.

I guess I did have quite the case of jet lag and perpetual loss of sleep because I conked out easier than I thought possible.

...

"Massie, dinner's ready!" Clementine called up the staircase again, effectively waking me up. I'd slept for just over two hours and my jet lag seemed to have passed easily enough. With a slight sigh, I got up and wandered downstairs.

They were both out on the back porch at the table, having set up a picnic-like setting. I took my seat and talked with both of my grandparents throughout the meal of hotdogs, potato salad, chips, and watermelon. I liked to think that my grandparents were a little more modern than some. They even had a little puppy that'd been too busy sleeping to greet me, but I'm sure I'd see her tomorrow.

Later that evening, I sat with Clementine on the porch swing, drinking black cherry tea and looking at the stars. I told her about how the rest of us were doing, i.e. Alicia, Kristen, Olivia, Derrick, Josh, and Chris. I left out Landon that night, knowing that that'd probably be one heck of a long conversation and it was already past nine o'clock.

"You know dear, I'm really glad you decided to come out this summer. Both Wendel and I have really missed you," she replied, patting my hand.

"I know, I've missed you too. But last year I'd just finished high school and you saw me at graduation and I had to worry about college. I'll try and visit you more often though. It might be harder with UI, but after that I have a lot more time," I promised.

"It's always nice to see you. You know… I've been wondering if you'd try and play guitar again like when you were younger."

"I can try, but it's been a while. It was always fun when I did still do it though. After dad changed, I guess I just forgot about what he taught me," I sighed, taking a drink of the tea and looking thoughtfully at the entrancing almost black sky. The big dipper was easy to find, along with the little dipper and little shapes I spotted on my own.

"I know, but I'll have to get that out for you."

"Sounds like fun."

After we talked a little longer and cleaned up the mugs, I crossed the hardwood floors and started to ascend the staircase.

"Oh, and Massie?" Clementine called before I went up. She'd probably get a glass of water before she headed up to bed with grandpa.

"Yeah?"

"You have a good night, but tomorrow, we discuss the boy."

"You know me too well. You sleep well, gramma," I replied, smiling and turning to go upstairs.

I swear that she muttered something about a newfound sparkle and rubbish about it not being blatantly obvious.

It wasn't really that obvious, was it? I would have to ask Alicia someday.

_..._

**Chapter title from **_**Red Dirt Road **_**by Brooks and Dunn. I just thought it went well with Montana… ha ha. **

**Anyway, that's the first chapter. Next chapter is named after **_**Summer Nights **_**by Rascal Flatts. I'm trying to make these all named after songs, but it's only going by if I think the title fits the theme. So if the lyrics don't fit... sorry. **

**Review? Smiles.**

**-SDOW**


	2. ChapterTwo: Summer Nights

**ChapterTwo: Summer Nights**

…

**Kalispell, Montana  
>Elder Block's Home<br>Thursday, June 21  
>8:00a.m.<strong>

***Massie Block***

I woke up the next morning, completely forgetting where I was for a couple seconds before it hit me. I was in Montana, visiting my grandparents. The sun filtered through the thin curtains, spraying the bright light throughout the room. The same sunshine lit up parts of the cream-colored carpet.

With a small yawn, I got up out of the bed and walked into the bathroom that connected two bedrooms. I pulled out my ponytail from the night before, discarding the tie beside the toiletries I'd laid out. I cranked on the hot water, stripping out of my shorts and tank top before stepping into the shower.

Thirty minutes later, I was finished with my shower and getting dressed. Still being fairly quiet, I padded into the bathroom once again and put my hair into soft curls. The hairstyle and a bit of soft makeup seemed to go well with my Forever 21 Flowering Sundress. I picked my iPhone off of the charger and trotted down the stairs with a pair of grey Faith Lecosmic platform heels hooked onto my fingers.

"Good morning, darling," Clementine greeted, handing me a Granny Smith apple.

"Morning, gramma," I countered, turning the apple over in my hands before taking a bite out of it.

"Wendel went down to the store to pick up a few things for me. Did you sleep well?" she asked, looking over the coffee mug she was drinking out of.

"Fantastic, actually. How about you?" It was polite, not very interrogating. But her little line last night was still in the back of my mind.

"Pretty good, not counting your grandfather's snoring. I believe he was cutting down the whole forest." I snorted; my dad had obviously picked up his snoring from his father.

"Are you doing anything today?" she continued. I shook my head. "Oh good, I was wondering if you wanted to come with me to the old folk's home I volunteer at. I've always figured that if I'm lucky enough to not have to be there at this age, than I should help the ones that are there."

"Sure, why not?" I took another bite of the apple, working my way around the edges.

"Well, we don't have to go until after lunch, but I'm sure you can find something to do."

I nodded thoughtfully, tossing away the core and wiping off my hands and mouth. It was the first morning in a while that I felt like I didn't need my coffee.

For a few hours, I sat on one of the chairs on the porch, writing down all that I could remember from Arnold's old war stories. To me, that history behind it all was fascinating. The weeping willow swayed in the light breeze. It was one of those days that not even one cloud was in the sky, it was just bright blue. I took a few pictures of the backyard and garden, as well as the few trees, to appease Alicia's request.

Speaking of Alicia, at around ten that morning, she sent me a text requesting that I got on Skype that instant because they were all together and it was absolutely necessary. It showed just how close all eight of us really were.

I went back up to my declared room and powered up my laptop. It was best not to delay her demands when she sounded like she'd had one too many cups of overly caffeinated and black coffee. I'd noticed after walking into the bedroom that Grandma Clementine had set out my father's old guitar on my bed, her way of asking me to try it out again. I knew how, but didn't remember it much.

On Skype, it turned out that they were split into two. The girls were on one account, the guys on another. I signed in and was almost immediately pulled into the now three-way video call.

"Massie!" Olivia, Kristen, and Alicia chorused in unison, making me back away slightly from the volume. The other four heads on the opposite side of my screen exchanged a look and sighed heavily.

"Well hi to you too. Geez, you think I'd been gone for a month not a day," I chuckled softly, looking at a picture above the desk.

"We can stick to hello's…" Josh pointed out. All four of them, yes even Landon, did one hello at a time in that singsong way. I tilted my head ever so slightly, thinking hard.

"So let me get this straight, in the last, what, twenty-eight hours I've been gone, you've turned into a barbershop quartet and you're their fan girls?" I inquired, raising an eyebrow.

"Please, we're your fan girls, not theirs," Olivia giggled.

"Hey Mass, can you do us a favor?" Kristen asked slyly.

"Um… depends on your terms…"

"I just need you to stand up and back up so we can see your feet." I raised both of my eyebrows this time.

"Got a bet going on my footwear again?" I retorted, looking down at my heel-clad feet. It added about four inches.

"Uh, maybe," she answered, smirking ever-so-slightly.

"Let me guess, except for Olivia, the girls are thinking I'm in heels; but Olivia is with the guys in thinking I'm wearing either sandals or flats; neither counting Landon who probably, or hopefully, isn't getting into bets about my apparel."

"Dang girl, you're a good guesser," Chris applauded, grinning widely.

"Well then, heels won, as usual. You'd think Alicia would know since she was helping me pack, but oh well."

"Anyways… How is Montana?" Alicia inquired quickly when everyone looked at her.

"Gorgeous."

"Met any fun people?"

"This guy named Arnold was a pretty fun man," I replied.

"Oh, so you met a guy. Did you turn on that flirting charm?" Derrick asked, grinning at the glare he received from Landon.

"I don't flirt with people over three times my age…" I responded slowly. Everyone burst out laughing when he frowned in disappointment.

"Hey, guess what, Crane picked up a habit from you," Josh declared.

"Do I even want to know what my poor boyfriend has picked up on?"

"Talking in his sleep. It was only a few words, but it was something."

"I don't do that very often," I defended, crossing my arms and fake-pouting.

"I was sleep-talking?" Landon asked, looking kind of scared. The look on his face made me wonder what in the world he was dreaming about that could be so bad.

"On the upside it was only your name once or twice." A chorus of _aww's _erupted and I giggled at the way my favorite teal eyes widened slightly.

"That's not so bad. I still remember the time Alicia found a way to make me swear like a sailor. Or the time that Derrick-"

"Any who, we have to get going. It was good talking to you Mass, have a fun day," Derrick cut in.

Landon looked kind of disappointed that it was so short, Josh raised his eyebrows, and Chris chuckled softly before the three of them all said there goodbye's and disappeared.

"Well that was odd… Did you take any pictures?" Alicia continued.

"A few. You'd love to sketch the garden, I just know it," I mused, twirling one curl around my index finger.

"That's fun. Hey, have fun with the old guy and your grandparents," Kristen waved.

"I'll do my best. You guys have a good day."

"Bye Massiekur!" Olivia trilled.

"Be good, no flirting, and remember not to fall out of any trees you may climb," Alicia advised with a short goodbye afterwards.

They signed off too, in which I followed suit and snapped the lid of my HP laptop closed.

"Massie, are you ready to go?" Clementine asked, cracking open my door. Sometimes I felt like I was younger than nineteen (tomorrow to be twenty!).

"Yep, coming right now actually," I said cheerily, picking up my purse and shouldering it.

Both of us climbed into her BMW 7 Series and she started driving down to the nursing home. _**(A/N: Clementine's car is actually number one on the list of preferred cars for the elderly.)**_

…

**Heritage Place –nursing home-  
>Main Room<br>Thursday, June 21  
>1:35p.m.<strong>

**MB;**

We arrived at the nursing home and set to work. I ended up hosting a game of bingo, which it doesn't make sense why anyone there for medical reasons would want to play bingo, but oh well. I guess it was just an activity. An older woman name Eva won the first round, Raymond won the second, and it was a tie (surprisingly enough) between Suzanne and Roger for the third round.

A few people thought I was older, already into my twenties, a few asked if I was twenty-two or three. I don't know why they even cared about my age, but it was apparently nice when they asked so I answered.

Clementine still hadn't asked about Landon yet, but I knew that she'd probably save it for the nighttime or something. Ever since I was a little girl visiting them there (they moved out there a few years after William and Kendra wed), we'd drink the tea or hot chocolate at night and just talk. We talked about everything, we talked about nothing, and she was always willing to talk.

I talked to a few of the elders, helped get medicine, helped the lady at the front desk organize some files and greet visitors. It was only a few hours, but it was pretty interesting. It was even something I thought about looking into once I was older during my free time.

…

With a slightly nervous sigh, I picked up the old guitar and carried it out onto the porch. Clementine sat waiting, two mugs of tea on the table by the side of the swing, excitement and anticipation shining bright in her pale blue eyes. I sat down beside her, adjusting the instrument to where I could reach it easily.

"It's been so long," I muttered, running one finger along the shining wood. "I don't know if I remember," I confessed, turning to look at her. My grandmother was obviously excited. She'd always loved to hear my dad play, but he'd stopped abruptly. None of us knew what had changed to make him go into his work, but we all wondered, and Kendra and I were probably the most worried.

"I'm sure you do. I remember when you were only thirteen, you used to sing a lot of Rascal Flatts and play the guitar with it. And your father would always be smiling so truly that it warmed everyone's hearts. We've always been so proud of you dear," Clementine continued, clasping her hands in her lap and smiling warmly.

I shrugged lightly, looking up at the sky. "I do my best. Like everyone else, I've made my mistake, but I hate knowing that I could've done better."

"Do you remember Summer Nights?" she asked.

"I'm not sure about the notes, but I remember the lyrics…"

"Will you try?"

"Of course," I complied. It was just her, and I needed to remember that since I didn't start off too well in front of more than a few people or my family.

I thought of the first few notes, hidden in the deep and virtually untouched recesses of my mind. With a wary eye, I strummed the first few, easily remembering the rest of it and falling into it. Clementine looked positively overjoyed, a grin stretched across her face; wide enough to make the skin around her eyes crinkle up a little more.

The lyrics came to mind to, flowing out like it was natural. I hadn't played in at least three years, possibly up to five, but I still knew. You never truly forget how to play I suppose. She tapped one hand lightly on her leg at the same rhythm that I was keeping with my toe.

It was about half-past eight, the sun just barely going down in the horizon. Pink, orange, and purple hues lit up the sky and the few clouds that were over there, turned colors from their original white. I was already in a pair of chocolate brown pajama shorts and a ribbed white tank top. My feet donned UGG Bella moccasins, which were also a brown, similar to espresso.

Much to her amusement, I was still sitting Indian style, singing along to another Rascal Flatts song, _My Wish_.

"_My wish for you is that this life becomes all that you want it to. Your dreams stay big, your worries stay small, you never need to carry more than you can hold. And while you're out there getting where you're getting to, I hope you know somebody loves you, and wants to say this too. Yeah this is my wish."_

I set the instrument back down, smiling to myself over my accomplishment. I really hadn't expected to have been able to do it again so easily.

"That was lovely, my dear. Thank you so much," she cooed, pulling me in for a tight hug. I hugged her back, smiling against her shoulder.

"And I hate to cut this short, but I do believe there was something, or rather _someone_, we were going to talk about." Clementine smiled lightly again, handing me my mug and facing me. "What's his name?"

"Whose name?" I inquired innocently, taking a drink of warm liquid. Thankfully, it wasn't scalding anymore.

"Nice try," she chuckled.

"Fine, it's Landon."

"That's all, no last name?" she teased.

"Aw shucks, how did you know that he was last nameless?" I joked. "No, actually it's Crane."

"Landon Crane?" she said it slowly, not just because she was older (that certainly was _not_ the reason) but seemingly evaluating it in her mind.

"That would be correct."

"So, he goes the same university as you then?"

"That's where I met him." I smiled, remembering the time he nearly knocked me off of my stilettos a few weeks into school. It had been my fault too, obviously, but neither of us was really paying attention…

"When did you meet?"

"The beginning of September, we literally ran right into each other in the hallway," I replied calmly, taking a drink of the citrus tea. She'd switched flavors.

"How do you feel about him?" she asked carefully, inspecting my face. I didn't know what to say exactly. She knew what Cam and Chris [Abeley] had done to me. The other one I'd had back when I was even younger had been something I'd broken off, but the other two both had disturbing backstories. Cam the cheater and Chris the creeper.

I remained silent, contemplating how to word. I opened my mouth to explain, but got cut off.

With a mischievous spark in her elderly eyes, Clementine asked, "You really and truly love this one, don't you?"

"You caught me," I admitted, shaking my head. My bangs were pinned back, but the curls were still flowing around my head.

"I can see it in your eyes, and it's definitely not the same that you had before, is it?"

"Not at all."

"Look, like any decent grandmother, I want you to know that you're making the right choice, and of course I'm worried because I've never even seen him, but I will meet him eventually, won't I?" she continued, one slender and wrinkled hand grasping her cup again and pulling it up to her lips.

"I guess you'll meet him in person eventually, but there are always pictures and such," I answered honestly. With one swift movement, I stuck the now empty mug onto the wood in front of the swing. The swing itself was now gently swaying as twilight faded into night.

"Can I ask you something? It's blunt, it's kind of rude, but it needs to be asked."

Oh no… "Um… sure."

"Have you slept with this boy?" she inquired, narrowing her eyes slightly. I slammed my face into my palm; leave it to my grandma to bring something like that into a conversation.

"In the same bed, yes. But slept with as in _slept with_, no," I said truthfully.

"Oh, okay then. Just checking, darling," she chuckled at my expression. I was glad that she didn't prod any further than that.

The conversation kind of faded off, coming to a stop a lot sooner than I expected. I was kind of happy that she hadn't tried to get me to explain it a lot more, because I was still a little confused about it all. It was just something that I knew, but still couldn't put into exact words.

I went up the stairs shortly after bidding Clementine a good night, in return being told to have sweet dreams.

Once inside the room, I turned on one lamp, giving the room a soft glow. Out of one of my bags, I unearthed a notebook and a new pen. Without further ado, I set to work writing something new. I was a preferable night owl, easily choosing night over day. Everyone I hung out with was the same way. The day was beautiful and wondrous and all, but I at least always got my best inspiration at night when the stars were out and the moon was gently lighting up the world.

My hand moved quickly back and forth across the page, quickly filling it up in my ever-so-slightly slanted script. Many people had told me that it was gorgeous, elegant, but I just thought it was penmanship- no more, no less. I turned the page and kept going. I had time to feel tired later, which probably wouldn't hit until one or so in the morning.

At precisely 11:59, my iPhone started buzzing uncontrollably. Raising an eyebrow, I picked it up and answered cautiously. Of course, I probably should've read the caller ID, but oh well.

"Hello?"

"I know it's one minute early and everything, but we had to call before the guys so… Happy Birthday Massiekur!" three voices screeched at once.

"Wow, thanks guys," I replied, taken aback by the loudness.

"You're welcome, sleep well and have a great day tomorrow. We have to hang up now though, love you!"

"Love you guys too," I chuckled. We hung up and I looked at the clock; the conversation had taken one minute only, which was pretty impressive.

My cell phone went off again, this time I actually checked the caller ID and smiled when I saw Landon's name and picture on the screen.

"Hey." I tapped my pen against the desk.

"Happy Birthday Massie!" four considerably deeper voices shouted. It sounded like they were outside, probably only gathering in the first place to share the call.

"The girls beat you," I teased.

"Dammit, Kris probably did the whole one minute early thing," Derrick muttered.

"Thank you still."

"Oh, you're very welcome ma'am," Josh said in a southern accent.

"Dude, she's in Montana, not Texas," Chris joked on the other end.

"Oh… well close enough!"

"I say you just ignore those two," Landon advised on his own.

"Rude! Anyway, have a good day… and night Mass, I've got to take off before Josh tries to get a piggyback ride," Derrick replied. There was a loud huff in the background, presumably from Josh.

"Night Massie," Chris said.

"Sleep well, Massiekur," Josh added before there was the sounding of footsteps and weird grunts as they disappeared.

"I swear, they should be hospitalized for mental issues," Landon said, probably shaking his head and switching the phone off of speaker. "However, it's your Birthday now. So, happy birthday, sweetheart."

Recently, more often in the form of "Babe" or "Hon" or something like that, we'd started into the habit of those cheesy nicknames. It was more often than not that we used them late at night, when neither of us could sleep and were just mindlessly chatting away on the phone. During the day it was normally just the use of our regular names, but it depended.

I smiled to myself. "Thanks, Landon."

"Anytime. I wish I could be there to do something better than a phone call," he sighed.

"Phone calls work just fine, but the thought is sweet," I answered, knowing he wouldn't be fully convinced on that.

"Did we wake you… or the girls anyway?"

"Nope, I was just writing."

"Oh alright, what did you do today?" he inquired.

"Took some pictures, volunteered at Heritage Place with my grandma, wrote, had an interesting conversation with said grandmother, and played a couple songs again. How about you?"

"A lot of basketball and soccer, not that much really. Is Heritage Place that one nursing home?"

"Uh huh," I said simply. Doing one of those weird things where you forget they can't hear you and nod.

"I see. Well, I'm kind of afraid to ask what made the conversation so interesting, but what do you mean by songs?"

"On the guitar. I started again with a few Rascal Flatts things, nothing big. And you should be afraid of that conversation," I teased. He probably would be a little embarrassed, or horrified, if he found out what my grandmother had been asking though.

"You play the guitar?" he asked incredulously.

"I did a long time ago, and started again per requests."

"Well, I'll have to hear that sometime then. So… what made the conversation so interesting?"

"She asked about you, you know the usual. What your name is and how we met…" I trailed off, silently hoping he wouldn't notice.

"And?"

"Some other things, that aren't very important."

"I take it that she asked that golden question?"

"Which golden question?" I countered. "Are you talking about the classic have we _slept_ together, then yes."

Silence.

"Kind of awkward, right? Of all questions…"

"Well at least she said slept together, my mom used a term that sounds western, I think is a dance, and I will never be able to say with a straight face again…" he muttered.

"Hanky panky?"

"How did you know?"

"Meh, good guess. I have to go though, and I'm keeping you up," I sighed. He let out his own sigh on the other end of the line.

"Alright, I'll talk to you… later today I guess. I love you."

"Love you too. Have a good night, Landon."

"You too, Massie."

We hung up and I stood up, switching off the lamp and walking over to set my iPhone on the nightstand. I pulled the sheets back. With a second thought, I walked over and cracked open the big window before ambling back over to the bed and crawling in.

That night, my dreams consisted of a scene very reminiscent of the music video for _Summer Nights_. The only difference was the people were replaced with people I knew. It was very strange, but kind of cool too. I'd have to try and incorporate something similar into a story sometime…

**-:-**

**Next chapter we introduce Dune, who just happens to have an interesting secret. Also, next chapter is **_**Just to See You Smile **_**by Tim McGraw.**

**Anyway, I was thinking of introducing what's happening in Westchester via LC POV. Any thoughts? I'm working on making my chapters longer. The next will hopefully reach even more over 4000. **

**Review? =)**

**-SDOW**

_**P.S. Massie's dress can be found on Google images or the Forever 21 website. The shoes can be found on Google images as well.**_


	3. ChapterThree: Just to See You Smile

**ChapterThree: Just to See You Smile**

…

**Kalispell, Montana  
>Elder Blocks' Home<br>Friday, June 22  
>10:00a.m.<strong>

**MB;**

I stepped out of the shower and dried myself off. The day looked like it was going to be another good one, portraying brilliant blue skies, very few white, puffy clouds, and morning birdsongs. It seemed like the day of my birthday was one that had come straight out of a fairytale.

I pulled on a pair of dark wash, short denim cutoffs and my Roxy wandering star tank top. Slipping into my red flats, I fluffed my hair and started out of the bedroom.

At the bottom of the stairs, I was caught by Clementine who gave yet another one of her infamously huge hugs and a smile. Wendel appeared behind her, madly waving for me to join him in the kitchen. I complied cautiously, wondering what they were up to.

Inside aforementioned kitchen, Clementine had set up a stack of pancakes (chocolate chip?) and a glass of orange juice. She ushered me to the stool with a "Happy Birthday" and a grin. Wendel added his own birthday greeting, sipping coffee and reading the newspaper. He was usually a rather quiet man, keeping to himself and staying out of the way of others.

"The lawn boy I hired is coming over today. His name is Dune… Do you remember him from a few years ago?" she asked, organizing a stack of home magazines.

"I think so," I said slowly. I was pretty sure that he was my shopping buddy one time.

"Oh good. And Arnold and his wife Elizabeth will be over at one point too."

I nodded and all way pretty quiet for the remainder of the breakfast. However, I couldn't shake the feeling that the older woman had something up her sleeve.

"Oh, by the way, where's Bean?" I inquired, remembering the lively black pug they'd gotten two years back.

"Over at the neighbors, she'll be home today." Once again, I merely nodded as a response, mulling several things over in my head at once.

Three years ago, I'd found out Dune's secret. Three years ago, I'd been sworn to secrecy, so I obviously couldn't defend it much. This was bound to get me into an interesting situation.

…

Around one, I was sitting Indian style beneath the Weeping Willow, sunglasses perched on my nose because the shade wasn't blocking all of the intense vitamin D rays. One finger, the nail covered in Pure Ice's French Kiss nail polish (it's blue), slid across the touchscreen of my digital camera as I scrolled through the photos that I'd taken. My iPhone was crammed into the pocket of my shorts, sometimes buzzing with an email or another birthday text message, to which I replied some sort of thank you to all. Kendra had called me at eleven, her and William wishing me a merry day, saying that had something for me when I got back.

"Massie, darling, come in the house please," Clementine called. I stood up and dusted off my shorts, ignoring the dead weight feeling from my ankle. It had fallen asleep for some time and was tingling as the blood rushed back.

I ambled across the bright grass in my flats, trotting up the steps and then striding through the open doors. Clementine was sitting at the kitchen counter, stirring the lemonade. Dune was on the other side of her, watching it intently. He had sun-bleached hair, similar to Derrick's only browner, and a light tan. You'd never guess…

"Hey Massie," he greeted cheerily, his voice normal. He'd never been the flamboyant type.

"Hey Baxter," I answered in turn, twirling a pen with my hand. The florescent orange pen was the same I'd been harboring in my pocket and had gone through the wash at least once already that summer.

"How's life been treating you?" he inquired, taking his eyes off of whatever he'd been observing. I wasn't actually sure what it was.

I smiled slightly, looking up from the flipping pen. "Pretty awesome. And yourself?"

"Fantastic, actually. Remember that one Patrick kid or whatever?" Dune raised one eyebrow.

"Yep… But what does that- Oh, I see now." I tapped one finger against my wrist, a sign we'd used those few years ago.

Clementine shook her head. "Everyone in this town knows, I don't see why you don't just say it," she chuckled.

He shrugged. I on the other hand, shoved the pen back into my pocket and leaned against the counter, not quite sure what else to do.

"Young adults these days…" Clementine muttered, stowing the pitcher into the fridge and wiping off her hands. "Anyway, you- backyard. Massie, you don't have to do anything," she commanded, pointing at each of in turn. I stifled my grin.

"Yes ma'am," he concluded, marching away.

"That was… normal?" I inquired. She smiled at me with a small nod before walking away.

I walked back across the floors, stepping onto the porch. One of the boards gave out a slight creak and a breeze ruffled my hair. I plopped down onto the swing I'd been talking with my grandmother on the past few nights and rocked back and forth gently. Dune started conversing to me while he was weeding the garden, much to my amusement. I thought it was funny seeing that, but maybe that was just my unusual sense of humor.

"So, you know about Patrick, might I ask what kind of fling you've got going on that makes you grin like an idiot every few minutes?" he asked, flashing a smirk when I glared at his choice of words.

"No, you might not ask," I teased.

"Well, I'm going to anyway. So, what kind of fling do you have going on that makes you grin like an idiot every few minutes?" he challenged, looking up from one particularly tough weed.

"It's not a fling," I countered.

"Relationship then?"

"Works much better."

"Well?"

"His name is Landon." Explaining it was becoming a usual occurrence because apparently people were reading me like an open book and it was just _so _obvious. I silently wondered if it really was that obvious.

"Is he cute?"

"Very."

We talked for a while longer. Once he was finished with the yard work, Clementine shoved a twenty into his hand, despite his protests, and shuffled off somewhere. Dune plopped down on the swing and noticed my iPhone sitting there.

"About that guy, is he in your contacts?" he asked.

"Why wouldn't he be?" I really should've seen it coming, but I was too busy trying to figure out if this one cloud looking more like a giraffe or an elephant. The condensation on the side of my lemonade glass dripped onto the porch wood where it was sitting.

Before I could say anything or stop him, Dune had picked up my cell phone and was going through the contacts. I tried to get my phone back, only managing in chasing him around the yard like we were in kindergarten. It was overly ridiculous.

"Hello?" he asked into the phone with an absurdly high voice for a male.

"I do not sound like that!"

"Oh, this is Massie."

"Dune freaking Baxter, give me the phone!" I demanded. He kept swerving out my reach from where we'd ended up sitting. I really had no chance now.

"Oh yes, I'll talk to you later," he said in an oddly suggestive tone and hung up.

With gusto, he whipped the iPhone back into my lap and started texting his own partner. If it hasn't become clear already, the confession those years ago was that he was gay.

_**(No, I have nothing against them. So don't get any ideas.)**_

Of course, by now almost everyone knew, except for my friends because it had never come up, so I didn't think of it. I'd practically forgotten about Baxter himself anyway.

"On the upside, judging from his voice he's hot, not just cute," Dune commented. I face-palmed.

"Good to know that you think my boyfriend's hot," I muttered.

"Although he sounded kind of worried… or upset. I don't know, he said he'd call you later," he continued, standing up. "Oh, and Happy Birthday if the gossip is correct. I'll talk to you later… maybe."

And he was gone, just like that.

I was kind of worried about the reaction to that one. My boyfriend had just received a call on my phone from another guy. This probably would not go over well.

…

Clementine had a made a cake and Wendel had barbequed. Arnold and Elizabeth came over and the five of us celebrated my coming of age. The cake was chocolate, with vanilla frosting. They'd decided that it was necessary to get me a birthday present too, even though I didn't really mind going without, and I now had a new set of notebooks and pens that I was actually in need of.

We'd all talked for a while after before the other pair left, leaving us to our own devices. I played the guitar again that night, trying out a few different pieces.

It was almost eight o'clock when I got that call back. I'd been chasing Bean around the yard, desperately trying to get my slipper back. It was a big backyard and that little pug was absurdly fast. My iPhone buzzed once before singing a loud rendition of _Party like a Rockstar_. _**(Song chosen using my own iPod shuffle choice…)**_

"Hello?"

…

**White Plains, New York  
>Westchester Community Park<br>Friday, June 22  
>4:35p.m. <strong>

**LC;**

I was at the basketball court, playing some mangled version of two-on-two with Derrick, Josh, and Chris when I got a rather interesting phone call. I shrugged and walked over to the sidelines, flicking my hair out of my eyes in the process.

"Hey," I greeted, upon seeing Massie's name on the caller ID.

"Hello?" an obviously male and rather high-pitched voice responded. Instantaneously, I was a bit confused, and maybe a little upset, as to why there was another guy calling me from her phone.

Someone else, most likely Massie, shouted something incoherent in the background.

"Uh… who is this?" I inquired. Derrick turned his head at my words and started laughing at the look on my face. It was balanced nicely between that same confusion, a hint of jealousy, and a bit of that look you get when something is just not normal or doesn't make sense (or you've eaten something sour).

"Oh, this is Massie," they answered in that same tone.

This time, I was able to make out Massie more clearly, yelling something about dunes and getting her phone back.

"Really?"

"Absolutely, sugar."

I was getting more frustrated by the second. Why was I getting a call from some random guy on Massie's phone? Better yet, why was there a guy with her phone in the first place? And why did it sound like he was flirting? I was mildly jealous, it was ridiculous, but I was.

"Uh… I'll talk to you later?"

"Oh yes, you'll talk to me later," the person said in a suggestive tone before the line went blank.

I stood up and slipped the phone back into my pocket, still wondering who it was.

"Who was that?" Josh asked, holding the ball still with his hand.

"I'm not exactly sure," I responded slowly.

"I thought it was Massie," Chris pointed out.

"It was Massie's phone, but that sure as hell wasn't Massie…"

A contemplative silence ensued.

The past few days had been filled with a whole lot of sports and Derrick's varying comments when he thought I couldn't hear him. Alicia gave me a command once about telling Massie about pictures over the phone, but other than the one Skype session, I hadn't seen a whole of the females. Instead, I was up late rearranging films and walking around. It was a habit of mine to walk late at night.

"Why don't you just call her back later?" Josh suggested, twirling the basketball in his hands.

"Who said I wasn't going to?"

"Let's get this show of the road," Derrick burst out.

That's pretty much how the next two hours played out, save for the fifteen minutes that we had managed to cram a sandwich in. I tried to forget about the suspicious phone call, but was having some difficulty with it. After yet another game of basketball, and whole lot of walking that involved shoving and weird noises.

Twilight faded into night, leaving not the usual open summer sky, but the makings of an unruly storm. Dark, reclusive clouds blanketed the sky, giving the whole seen that eerie calm thing. I knew that by the time eleven hit, it would be raining hard. Massie would've loved to see; she'd always loved to watch the storms.

The four of us parted, heading for different sections of town. I ambled back to my house, unlocking the door and slipping inside. My mom was already in bed, probably having already fallen asleep. I yawned slightly, trudging up the staircase and changing quickly into something more suitable and less sweaty.

I threw myself down onto the unmade bed, fishing around my pocket for my Droid. Right, I was supposed to call my own personal Massiekur that I just happened to love. I went into my call log and accessed her number that way, simply hitting the little green icon beside it on the touchscreen. Three rings later, she picked up the phone.

"Hello?" Massie asked, obviously having not paid attention to her caller ID again. Neither one of us did very often.

"Hey," I responded, wondering why she seemed to be panting. What was she doing?

"What's up?" she inquired, taking a deep breath. There was the sound of ice against glass in the background.

"Just got back from basketball. It's ten here, but I know it's earlier so… I called. And you?" I was also considering just blurting out the most obvious question.

"I took a run… in the backyard. _Damn dog…_" Massie had mumbled the last words, but I still heard them and chuckled lightly, kind of thankful that I could hear the truth in her tone.

"So, uh, I was kind of wondering…"

"Who called you?"

"Pretty much."

"That would be Dune. He's an old friend of mine. Not as close as Derrick or Josh or something, but we kept in touch up until about a year ago," she confessed.

"So, I'm not close to you then?" I prompted teasingly, noticing the way she'd worded that.

"Well, I don't usually say your name in the friend list considering I don't normally date my best friends so, you know." I can almost promise that she was shrugging, temporarily forgetting that I could not actually see what she was doing.

"Oh, alright, I see now. Or hear…" I trailed off. It was still bothering me a little though. But I had at least a reason, didn't I? No, I actually didn't, I should trust her more.

There was bang and an almost silent string of curses. I stifled the chuckle that had bubbled up. I'd learned a few things. If she wasn't paying any attention at all, Massie had a tendency to run into things. And if you managed to startle her right as she was waking up, she'd usually fall off of whatever she was sitting on. Alicia had gotten that one out when she'd decided to announce what had happened on Halloween night, much Massie's slight chagrin.

_-Flashback-_

_It was about two in the morning. Massie had just kind of nodded off, her head gently falling onto my shoulder. I didn't really care though, considering I still liked her at that point and was still curious as to why she'd pulled the whole "just as friends" thing._

_I leaned down further and carefully adjusted her into a position that a normal person could actually sleep in. She was already majorly out of it, a light smile on her lips. I was wondering if she was dreaming or something when it suddenly dropped into just the normal calm._

_The others were still mildly awake, save for Olivia and Josh. Massie, as if on instinct, seemed to have curled up against my side. On my part, I found it adorable; but she would probably have been pissed if she'd known at the time that I hadn't tried to move her at all._

"_You know, she doesn't do that to everyone," Derrick noted suddenly, glancing over at the two of us in the dark room and squinting._

"_Do what?" I inquired, seriously wondering what he was talking about. She was just lying a bit close, probably gravitating towards the source of warmth._

"_Sleep like that. Massie usually turns her back on people," Alicia cut in. Obviously, those too were her closest guy and girl friends._

_I lifted one shoulder. Alicia's smirk grew even wider when Massie seemed to have gotten even closer to me. It felt right, oddly enough; it was almost like that was how we were supposed to be._

"_I'm turning it off," Kristen mumbled. The others shrugged and the room fell into blackness._

_I gingerly moved my arm from where it was and put it around the back of her head, wondering if she'd wake up or something. I got almost no reaction, other than the slight shift of her head to regain the subconscious comfort position. It was clear that she really was asleep, not doing any of it on purpose._

_A few minutes later, with a small smile still on my face, one of Massie's arms moved and came up onto my torso. That same smile grew out how comfortable it was. I would've thought it to be stranger, less… right. I took my free hand and put it on top of hers, not really thinking about it._

_The TV flickered back on and Kristen sat up with a triumphant "Aha!". _

"_What?" I asked, blinded by the sudden light from the cheesy horror movie._

"_I knew it," she muttered victoriously before the room was bathed in darkness again._

_-End Flashback-_

From what I'd heard, Massie had woken up the next morning, on her own but a few inches from my own sleeping form and had been shocked enough at the closeness that she fallen clean off of the bed. It was quite interesting, considering she'd done it about three times that year.

"Did you hang up on me?" Massie asked. My flashback/thinking reverie was pulled away.

"Nope, sorry, just thinking," I mumbled.

"Oh, alright." She paused. "What else is bothering you?"

"Nothing." I shrugged, despite the fact that I was in a room alone and talking into an electronic device.

"Ha ha, funny. I'm serious."

I didn't say anything, not really wanting to come off as one of those clingy, over-protective boyfriends.

"It's Dune, isn't it?"

"Meh."

"Because I know you well enough to know that that 'meh' is a yes but you don't want to look like one of _those_ guys, then I'll just reassure you that Dune is not someone to be worried about. If anything, I should be worried about the possibility of him meeting you."

"What are you talking about?" I inquired. Why would it be bad if I met one of her friends?

"Face it, many people find you irresistible, including yours truly. Hey, I'm sorry, but grandma is calling me for something. I'll talk to you tomorrow, alright?" she continued, a smile etched into her voice.

"As always," I responded instantly.

There was the small goodbye. The whole conversation left me thinking again. I was probably seeing right through the obvious truth of her words, but it didn't make sense that I shouldn't meet her male friend because I'm "irresistible", which was an interesting choice of words by the way.

I'd probably just need the night to think it over. _Forget about it, it's just another guy friend. Trust her,_ my mind urged. I still couldn't help that little bit of bittersweet feelings though. I was only human, just like everyone else.

…

The next morning, I woke up, seeing only clouds and light rain. Great, summer thunderstorms. The odd conversation started to come back to my mind, and I'd finally processed the majority of it. Or, at least what the most obvious answer was anyway. It was the truth though, right? Because, other than Josh, how many guys in the average state of mind would be willing to do that during a phone call?

Josh was the strangest I'd become acquainted with around the seven of them. I guess I'd just kind of been accepted when I became Derrick's roommate. It was almost unreal how their little group had gone from friendships to relationships to both. And somehow, I found myself in the middle of it. Thankfully, not alone though.

…

_**(I find myself only being able to give slight insight to him before I've grown too bored. My apologies.)**_

**Kalispell, Montana  
>Elder Block's Home<br>Tuesday, June 26  
>1:45p.m.<strong>

**MB;**

I was still left wondering just how much the whole Dune situation bothered Landon. It had been four days, and he seemed fine, but at the same time I wasn't sure if he understood what my implications were.

It was glorious and sunny again that day, like every other in the past week. I sat on the grass, legs folded and hands backwards to support me. My head was tilted upwards, eyes closed while the sun coated over me.

Clementine and Wendel were talking quietly on the porch, shooting smiles at me every so often.

Sure, I was twenty now, but I had free reign to act any age I wanted. If that meant I wanted to pretend that I was still in high school and everything was as simple as high school can be still, then I was going to. Seriousness just needs to be damned to the darkest barrens of our Earth sometimes. Why else would I have managed to be convinced by Clementine to put the flower in my hair? It was one of her roses from a bush towards the back of the gate. It was tinted a peach/pink and she'd declared that it was a needed accessory to my outfit. I'd merely smiled and nodded slightly, letting her put it in.

Of course, being the sneaky grandmother I knew and loved, she somehow managed to figure out my camera (which was honestly quite complicated if you'd never seen it before) and snapped a picture. It was one of the ones where my head was titled upwards again, the breeze ruffling my hair that had taken an hour just to get straight. I needed a haircut eventually.

Dune didn't show up again, for which I was secretly kind of glad. He'd changed a lot, and it was kind of unnerving. Besides, I didn't need any more strange phone calls going out. We'd fall out of touch again, but we always did eventually. It sounded kind of rude, but it was the truth. We'd both clearly moved on with our lives since I'd last been in Montana.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Wendel asked, holding he little copper circle up in his hand. I chuckled and stood up, making my way over to the porch and sitting next to him.

"Do you have a genre?" I asked in a deep, faux-serious tone.

"How many thoughts do you have going on?" he inquired, dropping the penny into my palm.

"A few. My main those is what Landon might be thinking about Dune's stunt. I don't think my boyfriend appreciated being called sugar by some dude over the phone," I chuckled slightly. It was pretty funny, despite the worry behind it.

"If he trusts you, he won't worry too much about it," Wen said firmly with a twinkle in his eyes.

"I know, but after everything, it's best to be careful," I shrugged.

"Why don't you find a way to surprise him? You could try and show him that you're not that easy to keep up with and he shouldn't be worried."

"I like it… Who can I talk to if I want my takeoff time changed?"

…

**I'm switching her background around a little from how it was portrayed in ALITD.**

**When she was 14 ½ she dated Chris [Abeley] but broke up with him a year later because he was the harasser. At 16, she dated Cam until she was almost eighteen and just got out of Junior year in high school. That was when she caught him cheating, thus breaking them up. She'd always been friends with Alicia and all of them, but she hung out more with Dylan when she turned 15, but it obviously switched back because they Alicia and Massie were always there for each other. Hope that's not too confusing. Any who…**

**Not as drama-y as I was thinking, because it wasn't much to get worked up over. I think the biggest I'm planning is a certain confrontation on a certain cruise.**

**Review?**

**-SDOW**


	4. ChapterFour: Heads Carolina, Tails Cali

**ChapterFour: Heads Carolina, Tails California**

**Kalispell, Montana  
>Elder Block's House<br>Friday, June 29  
>11:23a.m.<strong>

**MB;**

It was my last day in Montana. I'd spent a good deal of time talking to Clementine the past nine days, gaining all sorts of advice. Wendel told me stories, knowing how much I loved to hear about what he remembered. I hummed softly while I attempted to teach Bean how to at least sit on command underneath that big tree, the one that had quickly become my favorite with it drooping green branches and shadowy overgrowth.

I had switched my flight from the one around four to the one at almost seven in the morning, just like coming from New York. It would land around four, Montana time, but around six New York time. Alicia, Kristen, and Olivia were picking me up. They'd agreed while giggling at the prospect. The original plan was Derrick and Landon, but they didn't know that my flight had been switched. I guess I'd just have to see what would happen from there.

My dreams had been taking on themes whenever I remembered them. One of them had a Lady Gaga-esque scene going on. Some of them were like fairytale scenes, with characters switched around. Others seemed like music videos or things that I myself had written. That normally happened to be in the summer or when I wasn't around the people I hung out with on a daily basis. I never knew why, it just happened. I'd only had three since I'd been there, luckily. They'd get weirder the longer they persisted.

Clementine was in the kitchen, apparently making a small package that her cookies and such in it for me to take back to Westchester. Wendel was on the back porch, reading a book quietly.

Bean yipped slightly, finally obeying sit for the first time in that hour. I grinned and handed her a treat before retiring for the time being and standing up. I brushed my hands against my jeans.

"Massie, Wendel, get your last butts in here and eat lunch," Clementine called, poking her head out of the door and smiling hugely. I shook my head; best grandparent I knew.

We complied, sharing a quick look behind her back.

…

The rest of the day passed fairly quickly, filled with lots of talking and old stories and the few things I had to cram back into my duffels. One was filled with my clothes. The other had a few others technicalities and my laptop, camera, notebooks, pens, and stuff like that. Even a few last articles of clothing were shoved away. Clementine insisted that I take the guitar back with me, despite my protests.

At night, I crawled into the bed at ten, which was early for me.

Tomorrow, I'd be going home. Tomorrow, I'd have to leave Montana behind. Tomorrow I'd see everyone again.

_Tomorrow._

_**(I know she's going home pretty soon –at least chapter wise- but there isn't much to tell because the majority of the advice and such come into play later on…)**_

…

**New York  
>Westchester County Airport<br>Saturday, June 30  
>5:45p.m.<strong>

**MB;**

"Massie!" Olivia squealed, spotting me first and full on tackling me by the luggage carousel. I nearly fell backwards, but luckily hadn't worn my heels and managed to catch myself (and her) before it happened. Alicia and Kristen crowded around as well, all four of us in a huge group hug.

"Do any of them know?" I asked seriously, trying not to giggle at how serious Alicia's face grew.

"Nope," she remarked proudly. Kristen shook her head and we grabbed my bags.

"You brought the guitar?" Kristen inquired excitedly, picking it up.

"My grandma insisted that I bring it back with me," I said shyly.

"You have to play to us sometime soon then," Olivia announced, linking arms with me.

With connected arms and bags in tow, we made our way out to Alicia's car and put the stuff in the back before climbing in ourselves. The drive was fairly short, filled with all the animated conversation on how the trip was and the demands of seeing the pictures later. It faded back and forth for the half-an-hour drive until we had pulled up in front of my place. It was almost seven at that point.

Inez was busy around the house and Kendra and William were not-so-conveniently gone until late at night in two days. They'd had an important gala or something and would be back by the second of July.

They helped me take my few bags upstairs, undeterred in their motions by my protesting. Inez greeted me with a hug and a welcome, accepting the package that Clementine had took and briskly carrying it away to the kitchen. I shrugged slightly and continued on up the staircase, my purse and the old guitar in tow.

"Do you have jet lag?" Alicia asked suddenly while I was setting up my electronics.

"Not really, why?"

"Want to do girls' night?" she continued.

"Sure."

That night, the four of us watched various of those sad romances, such as _The Notebook_ and _The Time Traveler's Wife_. We were sitting around, eating candy (which I swear was all Olivia, but we eventually had to join), talking, giggling, and trying to calm down after numerous amounts of sugar highs. It was midnight when the almost expected phone call occurred, considering it was a bit planned on us girls' part.

"Hello?" I answered, my voice an octave higher than necessary.

"Massie, it's Derrick and Landon, where are you?" Derrick said into the phone.

Still using that strange giggly tone, I responded, "Do I know a Dairen and a Larson?"

"Are you even at the airport?"

"No silly, I'm at home!" I think my voice was starting to make him suspicious.

"Are you drunk?" Landon asked, breaking the silence.

"I don't know… Hey Ali, am I drunk?" I inquired loudly. "Maybe just a little bit, she says."

"Oh dear God…"

"Why are you praying?" I inquired innocently. The other three were desperately stifling their laughter with pillows and hands.

"We'll see you later, Massie."

"Oh okay. Have a good night Donald and Larry," I cheered, hanging up the phone.

"Well, it seems that it worked," Alicia noted casually. It was half-passed midnight, but none of us were really tired.

"You're way too good at that," Kristen snickered.

"I'd give it an A," Olivia awarded.

"So… it's almost one in the morning… What do we do now?" I inquired.

Alicia smiled. "You've got the guitar, and there's a field. We should go outside and you can play… please?"

I raised an eyebrow. "Alicia." I drew her name out in the 'seriously' tone.

"Please, Massiekur. You know we love you…" Alicia freaking Rivera was pulling the puppy-dog eyes on me. I snorted.

"I'll do it, but on my own free will. Only one person can do proper puppy-dog eyes that actually work, in my mind."

"It's Landon," Kristen trilled, clasping her hands and pretending to swoon.

"Ooh, we need a confession," Olivia stage-whispered.

I shook my head and grabbed the instrument from beside my desk. "You want me to do it, or not?"

"Do it, do it!" Kristen called loudly. It was a good thing William and Kendra weren't here, even though they'd said it was fine, they didn't always appreciate the noise all of us could make.

"Fine, stop talking about Landina so we can move," I hollered.

"Landina?" Alicia started giggling madly. "I am so telling him his new nickname."

I was silent for once, marching out the door and then nearly flying down the staircase as they took off after me. I kept running until I came to the field that was set in the middle of my house and the next one. It was technically our property, and fairly sizeable. The grass was always short enough to lie in, so it had become a habit of mine to come out here at night ever since I was twelve.

"Would you quit running?" Olivia pleaded, jogging up to us last and giving all three of us an insanely dirty look. Hmm, looks like I was rubbing off on her.

"In time, young grasshopper," Kristen said in her best old, wise man tone, making us just laugh harder at the situation.

Almost simultaneously, we calmed down and remained quiet, standing in the middle of a field and gazing at the stars.

"So, guitar?" Alicia finally asked, breaking our oddly serene silence. I bit my lip and Olivia clapped, already dancing around. Kristen managed to remain fairly composed, despite the slight twitch at the corner of her mouth, a hint that she was trying really hard not to giggle.

"Do I have to?" I inquired.

"Yes."

"Oh, geez. And requests on what I know?" It had already been more or less of thirty minutes, and was well into one in the morning.

"Anything that we will be freaking shocked to hear coming out of your mouth," Olivia decided without a blink of an eye.

"Uh, isn't that just country music in general? You guys hardly ever hear me listen to it at all."

She pursed her lips thoughtfully before shrugging.

"Do you know that one song, _Heads Carolina, Tails California_?" Alicia asked.

I nodded slowly. That was one of the first one my dad had taught me. He'd sit and carefully help me out with the hand positions, making sure I wasn't completely off. It took a bit, but I eventually had gotten in and now here I was.

An almost glowing grin spread on her face and I shook my head, keeping it low. We were all still standing, in case you random persons were wondering. I started it off, my foot subconsciously tapping while they Kristen patted the beat. Alicia and Olivia had taken to dancing around once the lyrics took place and I finally looked up, desperately restraining the guffaw that had risen.

As the song ended, I chuckled at my friends' crazy antics, as they were completely dancing around now.

Still laughing, together now, we all laid down on the grass, our heads in a circle with our bodies facing outwards. "That was awesome," Alicia announced.

"Meh, it's been a while," I shrugged.

"Modest much?"

"Would you rather that I lie and flaunt something that's not there?"

"Shush, I'm trying to concentrate," Olivia announced, surprising us all. I snickered and Kristen snorted.

We were all now watching the stars. The thick midnight blue blanket was laced with the bright sparkling of stars, a completely entrancing sight. I loved the stars, and rain. They completely contradicted each other, because you couldn't see one with the other there. If the stars were out, then it wasn't raining; but if it was raining then you couldn't see the stars. Don't get me wrong, I'm in love with hot summer days too, but I have a soft spot for the rain.

Now, in what only happens to us totally-don't-act-our-age young adults, we somehow managed to fall asleep, lying in the middle of the grass and staring at the stars.

…

"Uh, are they sleeping in a field?" someone asked. I had my eyes firmly closed, still half-asleep and not willing myself to get up. I somehow knew that it hadn't been very long, probably only a half of an hour or something. The thought that I might want to get up and go inside, or at least discover who the voice belonged to crossed my mind, but I ignored it and continued trying to lull myself back to sleep.

"At least once every summer you'll find them like this. Congratulations!" a different voice bellowed. I cringed and groaned on habit, reaching up to cover my ears. A chuckle followed before the newest voice continued, "Anyway, I'll wake up Kristen and Olivia, Kris first of course, and you can wake up the other two. I suggest trying Massie first, it's best to get the most stubborn up first, and they can help with the second one. I've learned…"

I was still not fully awake, and upon hearing these people's little plan, I promptly turned and curled into a ball.

"Example A…"

There was a muffled set of footsteps before I could feel someone crouch down beside me. "Massie, you need to get up. And I know you can hear me, so don't make me carry you," the voice commanded. I sighed; I knew that voice. It was Landon, and he would in fact probably pick me up if I didn't move within five minutes.

I let out a weird huff and prayed for a hole to suddenly appear.

"Please?"

"That's never going to work," Derrick chuckled. So that answered who not-so-mystery-and-actually-kind-of-expected-guy-number-two was.

I opened my eyes and glared at him, even though it was still completely dark outside and he couldn't see my face clearly. I stifled the yawn coming on and turned slightly to see that Landon was in fact beside me, crouched down and silently asking if I was going to get up on my own.

With a kind of distorted sigh (my mostly awake, but not all the way, mind and another yawn occurred), I unfurled and slowly sat up, standing on my own accord.

"Well then, I'll ask questions later, but welcome back," Landon greeted, straightening back up and pulling me into a hug.

"Thanks," I murmured against his chest. A few seconds later, we separated and he moved over to Alicia's sleeping form, obviously thinking hard about the best way to approach her. I'd been surprisingly easy, and he knew I was normally ten times the amount of stubborn I'd been. Alicia was almost as bad, but not quite.

He leaned down and gently shook her arm, saying something I couldn't quite here.

"Good luck with that," Kristen, who was now awake, and I said in unison, making both males look over with a kind of surprised expression.

"I think I know a way…" I said mischievously, now completely awake and remembering my old trick.

"Oh? And what would that be?" Derrick asked before Landon could. It was easy to tell that they came about a second away from doing the whole simultaneous talking thing like Kristen and I had.

I cleared my throat and then grinned. "Oh my God, Alicia! I just caught Chris in bed with another guy!" I screeched. Alicia immediately shot up and nearly collided with Landon who was still beside her.

"So _not_ funny," she growled when I started giggling. Silly girl, she should've known that it would make me laugh even harder, which I did. It got to the point where I had to hold my sides because I was laughing so hard. The look on her face was priceless.

All of us were actually cackling at that point, loud enough to wake up a disgruntled Olivia.

"Okay, I guess that worked out in our favor," Landon said slowly, looking amused but kind of disturbed. Derrick's face was holding a similar look.

"Shut up," Alicia grumbled, dusting herself off and whacking my arm.

"At least I wasn't pretending to be Chris again like that one time…" I trailed off when she started glaring. I guess my little sleep-talking trait had rubbed off onto someone other than Landon.

"No need to bring that up. Besides, why are these two here? Shouldn't they be doing whatever it is at night that they do when their girlfriends aren't around?"

"You mean sleeping? Yeah no, we kind of saw you when we were driving past. I had to drop Derrick off because someone neglected to tell us something," Landon intervened, shooting me a rather pointed look.

"Well, rawr," I replied. He really should've figured that I'd think of some retort later when he wasn't expecting me to say something.

"And called you Landina," Derrick added, as helpful as ever.

"I'm leaving as I can barely stand any more. See you at your house, Massiekur," Olivia yawned. She pulled Alicia along back with her to my parents' estate.

"Oh, and welcome back Massie. I'll probably confront you later, but I should probably go too," Derrick announced, telling Kristen goodbye in a much quieter voice.

"Try and sleep considering you were out for pointless reasons. Have a goodnight, Landon," I said quietly.

He sighed slightly. It seemed to hold some kind of meaning, but I was too tired to pick up on it. "Night Mass… I love you."

I bit my lower lip out of habit. "I love you too."

He hugged me, placing a kiss on my temple before dragging Derrick off. Kristen and I waved slightly before dashing off back to the house.

_Hello Westchester, it's good to see you again._

…

**Westchester County  
>Block Estate – Driveway<br>Sunday, July 1  
>11:35a.m.<strong>

"Dayum, I need to clean this thing," I muttered. It was just before noon the next day. Last night was still fairly confusing, considering the pair had shown up out of nowhere practically.

I was standing in the driveway, hands on my hip and staring at my car. Alicia, who was the only one still there, giggled at the face I was making. It was someone a cross between a look of concentration, determination, and disgust.

"Then do it, manually," she added, raising an eyebrow. I looked down, only to find my sandals, incredibly short shorts, and a tank top. "Give the neighborhood a show!" she cheered, jumping up and throwing a magazine into the air.

"Psh, yours is dirty too," I noted, pointing to her car that was behind mine.

"Okay, where's a bucket?" I shook my head at her answer and went to find one. Together, we filled it up with the soap and water. Of all things we could do on a Sunday morning, it turned out to be washing cars. I was kind of surprised that I'd even managed to be awake this early.

Alicia gave me the funniest look I'd ever seen when I climbed up the shelves in my garage to get to the sponges.

"What? You're the one who wants to do it by hand instead of going to the carwash," I pointed out, hopping down and chucking the sponge at her.

"Well, what are you – spider_woman_ or something?"

"You can't tell the president," I whispered. She shook her head and followed me back outside.

"How do we approach this?" she inquired, staring at the sponge and her car.

"Have you really never washed your car by hand?" I snorted.

"I have, a long time ago."

I shook my head and walked over, turning on a stereo I'd put in the garage. Alicia watched my closely when I strode back over and started to scrub the hood of the car with the sponge. She shrugged and copied my motions, all the while trying to ignore the snickers that kept coming out of my mouth.

At one point, just because we could, we got into a sponge fight that resulted in soaked tank tops and half-cleaned cars. I whacked her with it again before moving to the other side. She huffed and gave me a playful glare before moving around to her car's other side as well.

We were quiet for a while, listening to the music and stepping around. I leaned particularly far over to reach the tip of the hood at one point and someone low whistling pulled through the air. Alicia and I immediately looked over, sighing when we saw the group of four testosterone-filled males walking down the sidewalk. Our odd friends weren't actually coming towards us, but they were walking by.

"You realize Landon is probably undressing you with his eyes right now, right?" Alicia came up by my side to inform me.

"And Chris isn't to you?"

She glared at me before reversing to our old tactics and hitting me in the face with her sponge. I reached up and twisted my sponge over her head with an innocent grin.

"You just soaked me!" she called out.

"It's not like you weren't already soaked. And you hit me!" I snickered.

Much to the amusement of the four boys who'd paused in their journey to wherever-land, Alicia gave me the death glare and I took off running.

"Don't you run from me, Massie freaking Block!" she hollered, running after me. Someone did not like their hair wet…

"I'd like to see you stop me!" I taunted loudly.

She grinned evilly and ran after me, which was kind of a lost cause. I used to do running in my free time; it was always a win-win. I was able to keep in shape and keep myself busy if there was nothing else to do.

"Go Block!" Derrick hollered, throwing his fist into the air. Josh and Chris were for Alicia, but Landon was on my side, thankfully.

"'Scuse me!" I yelled, breaking through the human barrier and looping around. I kept going down the street, eventually letting her get closer and then turning around and hightailing it out of there, a plan forming in my mind.

What everyone least expected, including myself, was for me to able to climb my own backyard fence so easily and to land on my feet. Alicia was just as fast, but a few seconds behind.

"Pools solve everything!" I advised, jumping into the water in my backyard. Alicia jumped in after me and we just floated there, giggling like mad and splashing each other.

"Did we leave something?" I asked all of a sudden.

"Ha ha, oops."

I climbed out and helped her up, both of us discarding our flip-flops. We were now officially soaked completely, trudging over to the gate and playfully bumping each other. I undid the latch and pushed it open, still laughing. Alicia flicked her wet pony tail off of her shoulder and we both straightened our faces, walking out as normal as possible.

"Aw, did someone go for a swim?" Josh teased. I shrugged and inspected my nails, flipping them in the sunlight like it was incredibly important.

"Hey Massie, I thought you said Derrick acted like the wet dog?" Chris teased. Alicia snorted, earning a nice glare from me. Chris, on the other hand, got whacked upside the head by yours truly before in true canine fashion, I flipped my head down and then back up, successfully getting him wet.

"See, isn't that a good enough reason for you Derricka?" Landon asked casually.

"Shut up, Landina. I get it."

"Alicia, what did we ever get ourselves involved in?" I inquired, turning to her with a very questioning and humorous gaze.

"I don't think we'll ever know."

…

**Chapter based off **_**Heads Carolina, Tails California **_**by Jo Dee Messina. Next chapter **_**The High Road **_**by the Jojo Effect. Next chapter, introducing Nina Callas. Massie isn't the only one with a relationship history.**

**Review? (:**

**-SDOW**


	5. ChapterFive: The High Road

**ChapterFive: The High Road**

…

**Westchester County  
>Block Estate<br>Sunday, July 1  
>1:00p.m.<strong>

**MB;**

"I propose a game of _Never Have I Ever_," Kristen said suddenly. All eight of us were sitting in a circle in my front yard because there was nothing else to do.

I'd "explained" about my flight being switched, and I'm pretty sure they don't really believe it, but they dropped it… for now.

"Kris, the last time we played that we ended up having to give up Derrick's secret nickname. Do you really want the new one out too?" I inquired, tilting my head and ignoring Derrick's questioning look.

"Which is why it's fun!"

"Fine."

"We'll do it," Alicia and Olivia said together.

The rest of the guys shrugged; it wasn't like we had any other plans.

"Sweet. I'll go first. Never have I ever… kept a pet rock," Kristen said, probably saying the first thing that came to mind. Josh's finger, as well as Alicia's went down.

"Don't want to know. Alright, never have I ever shattered a cell phone," Derrick announced. Kristen's finger went down, followed closely by mine and Chris's.

Landon was the next to say something. "Never have I ever gone skinny-dipping."

I snorted and all four of us girls put our fingers down. All of the guys raised their eyebrows.

"What? It was an impulsive decision and it happened two years ago," I vouched with a shrug. "Anyways, never have I ever run into a wall." Landon and Derrick both put one of their fingers down. I had a feeling that it had been a team effort.

"Never have I ever owned a pink phone," Olivia sighed- she probably wanted a pink phone.

Of all people, Landon was the one who put a finger down. "Um, when?" I asked, leaning away from him slightly.

"It was originally white. But one of my friends stole it and had his sister paint it with pink nail polish," he noted.

"Good God…"

"I'm next. Never have I ever set something on fire while cooking," Josh replied, acting like he actually cooked in the first place.

That sent Chris and Olivia both down.

"Never have I ever trashed a hotel room," Chris said. I put one down, as well as Derrick and Josh.

"Never have I ever laughed so hard that a drink came out of my nose," Alicia announced. Everyone except for herself and yours truly had to put one down.

"Never have I ever eaten dog or cat food," Kristen replied. To not-so-much astonishment on girls' parts, all four of the guys had to put one down.

"Never have I ever glued myself to something. And if you have, do elaborate," Derrick replied.

Alicia and I exchanged a quick glance before both putting one down. "I accidently glued my hand to Massie's face," Alicia announced.

"And in turn, mine was glued to Alicia's cheek like I was slapping her."

Landon didn't react much, instead going on to say, "Never have I ever fallen out of a car."

Olivia snickered and put one of hers down. Alicia, Kristen, and Derrick all did too. I'd fallen up staircases, not out of cars.

"Never have I ever run down the street in my underwear," I said calmly. Josh, Chris, and Landon all had to go down for that one.

"Never have I ever pierced my nose," Olivia commented. I shrugged and put it down. It was seven years ago and I took it out after three years.

"Never have I ever smashed a soda can on my head," Josh shrugged.

Kristen, Olivia, Alicia, and I had to put a finger down. It had been a contest during a sleepover, which Kristen had won.

"Never have I ever shoplifted."

Derrick pulled a finger down. "I prefer to call it borrowed and have yet to return."

"Never have I ever sung along to Justin Bieber," Alicia announced.

All four of the guys put a finger down, making us look at them like they'd lost it and scoot away a little.

"Never have I ever made out with a mannequin." Derrick shrugged and put one down like it was normal.

In the distance I saw Nina Callas and groaned; she seemed to be headed this way. "Never have I ever dated that," Derrick stated, nodding at Nina.

Landon, obviously attempting to be secretive, slowly pulled a finger down. I raised my eyebrow in that excuse-me kind of way and moved a bit farther away. "On my defense, it was only like, seven months. Anyway, never have I ever been chased by the police and gotten away," he stated, trying to edge away from the subject.

Derrick and I both put a finger down.

"Never have I ever gotten in a fight with a random person on the street," I commented. That knocked Derrick out all the way.

"I win!" he bellowed, showing us his now completely done hands.

That, unfortunately, caught Nina's attention. She looked at us, and was then officially coming over.

…

**Westchester County  
>Block Estate<br>Sunday, July 1  
>1:30p.m.<strong>

**LC;**

Nina Callas was walking forwards and the look on Massie's face was increasingly turning more like she'd just tasted something sour or smelt something disgusting.

_Oh shit, you're in for it now buddy-boy. _I know, off all things Derrick had to say. _Are you responding to me, the voice in your head? _Uh, I guess, but that's- _Aw, you're so sweet! _Shut up, I don't have time for this. _Rude, much?_

"Oh my gosh, you guys are still in Westchester?" Nina cooed.

"I guess," Massie said in the flattest voice I'd ever heard come out of anyone's mouth.

"Landon, what are you doing here?" she gushed. I guess she'd expected me to completely move out of state like my friends had.

"I live here," I sighed.

"In this house? Isn't this the Block's place though…?"

"I live in Westchester still." _Idiot._

"Oh, I get it." Nina giggled. All eight of us were sitting there, looking at her in a particularly unwelcome way. She was oblivious though, just standing her like a Barbie doll. She had been part of the "plastics", known mainly for their plastic surgeries and family's money. Don't even ask what was going on in my head when I'd dated her… I'm still not sure.

"What are you doing here?" Kristen asked with false-curiosity.

"My daddy wanted to be more out of the city again, so I came back instead of staying in the big city on my own," she explained.

"Because we care so much," Massie muttered under her breath. I'm pretty sure I was the only one who heard.

"Why are you hanging out with them, Lanny?" Nina asked, tipping her head. All gazes switched to me, wondering how I was going to phrase this because they all now knew about the past.

"Because they're my friends and Massie's my girlfriend," I responded slowly.

"You're dating _her_?" she gasped. Massie's hand curled into a fist by her side.

"Yes, I am." I answered like I hadn't noticed the disgusted and shocked tone in her nasally voice.

"I thought you could do better."

"Bitch," Massie said, half-muttering.

"What did you just call me?" Nina snapped.

Massie looked up, completely unaffected by the new anger flashing across the other girl's face. Alicia, Kristen, and Olivia all looked like they knew exactly what was happening, while the rest of us just stared.

"Does it matter? It's not like your vocabulary is that extensive anyway," Massie shrugged, blinking once. Her face was void of any emotion, and it was kind of unnerving.

"You have no right to talk to me that way!"

"It's a free country."

"Stop acting like the stupid piece of trash you are and tell me what you said," Nina commanded darkly. I was a couple words away from stepping in myself, but Kristen looked at me and shook her head slightly, indicating that I needed to stay back.

"Before I have to call the cops _again_ like last year, get off of my family's property," Massie replied calmly.

"Not until you tell me what you said."

"Livvy, do you have my phone?" Olivia handed Massie her iPhone. She immediately unlocked and tilted it out of anyone's view while tapping something. She held it up to her ear and opened her mouth to say something.

"Dammit, I will see you again. Especially you, Landon," Nina said, seemingly attempting to purr on my last name before she completely took off.

Massie sighed, dropped her phone into her lap and leaning back on the grass.

"She does that every year," Alicia groaned.

"I can't believe you dated her, man," Josh said. Massie seemed to remember that and shot me look.

"Can I please kill her yet?" Kristen whined. Derrick chuckled and pulled her up against his side.

"Yes, we should," Massie answered suddenly, shifting back up to a sitting position.

"Massie, you can't kill someone just because you don't like them," Chris noted.

"Why not just let her?" Alicia asked. "I'll help."

"Looks like Landon's awfully quiet now," Derrick noted slyly.

"That's because I don't know what to say," I admitted.

"An explanation for how you got your brain cells back after dating her, perhaps?" Massie suggested. Everyone attempted (and failed) to hold in the little chuckles at that one.

"That's a very good question. I guess I'm just lucky."

"Yep, lucky that Massie's not trying to burn a hole in your head with her eyes right now," Derrick confirmed, earning one of said glares.

"Nah, he's dealt with my exes before. Besides, it's not like they made out or anything. That's when I would be mad, even if he was trying to get her off, I'd probably still see red," she sighed and scrunched her nose slightly at the thought.

"What exactly would you do then?" Alicia oh-so-brightly asked.

"I don't know. Probably do something my style- you know, wearing the classic outfits that he has trouble keeping his hands off of me when I'm in it, but not let him touch me. It's good that won't happen," she snickered. She'd already done that one time, and it was most definitely hard, especially when Kristen had whacked me upside the head for staring.

Massie was probably the mouthiest out of the girls, but Kristen was probably the best physical fighter. However, I could completely see Massie winning a fight, so I don't know…

"You would do that to me _again_?" I asked incredulously. Within the past couple of months she'd easily picked up on everything that made resisting the hardest.

"That… and more." Massie grinned like it was hilarious. And it kind of was, for everyone except me.

"Psh… I doubt you could keep your hands off of him for a day, Block," Derrick taunted.

"I've done it before, haven't I?"

"Oh?"

"You have no idea what I was thinking in early December." She gave a devious grin before losing the seriousness and laughing.

"Not even I want to know," I said, shaking my head.

"How dirty do you guys think my mind is?" she asked incredulously between chuckles.

"I think it's the grin that threw us off," Alicia noted.

The atmosphere had slipped back to its original easygoing mood, but something in my gut said that this would not be the last time we heard from Nina Callas.

…

**Westchester County  
>Crane Household<br>Sunday, July 1  
>6:35p.m.<strong>

**LC;**

My mom and I were sitting at the dining room table (an "elegant" circle with four chairs), eating dinner and talking about things.

"So, I have a serious question," I said slowly, wondering how on Earth I was supposed to phrase it.

"Okay… Are you going to ask it?" Celia countered.

"What do you do if your then-girlfriend and your now-girlfriend seem to completely despise one another and the then-girlfriend is back in town and you have a bad feeling that you have not seen the end of her yet?" I inquired. There was some backstory with Nina that I really needed to figure out at some point.

My least anticipated reaction, a chuckle, was what managed to escape her mouth. Honestly? That's just jolly…

"Do they hate each other because of _you_? If so, that's completely normal…" She raised an eyebrow.

"No, all of them hate her. And then Massie threatened her with the cops about having to get her off the property again." I sighed.

"I don't know what to tell you for once. I guess you should just try and be careful about being around the then-girl alone. Massie's a keeper; try not to do anything stupid." I groaned. A keeper? There are about a thousand terms she could use, but she instead advises me that my girlfriend is a keeper (Which she is, but still) and tells me not to do anything stupid.

Celia merely chuckled and cleared away her own plate, leaving me to keep my own head above the endless thoughts.

…

On the nightstand, my Droid buzzed and started rapping (yes, it was a rap song) to let me know that I had a text message.

**Derrick: I'm bored.**

**Landon: That's nice.**

**Derrick: No, seriously. I have nothing to do at all.**

**Landon: So you're texting me?**

**Derrick: Precisely. You won't make creepy jokes like Josh or sometimes downright ignore me like Chris.**

**Landon: … I never said I wouldn't ignore you.**

**Derrick: Damn.**

**Landon: Are you high or something?**

**Derrick: If I was I wouldn't share.**

**Landon: Rude.**

**Derrick: You know it.**

**Landon: You kind of sound like a girl.**

**Derrick: Well so do you!**

**Landon: I'm going to bed. Bye…**

**Derrick: Psh. Night.**

So, that having served no real purpose whatsoever, made me wonder what he was up to. Maybe he really was high…

Either way, I still dropped the phone on my bed and laid there, not sure what else to do since it was eleven at night. Eventually, my body did the work for me and I was falling asleep, falling quite deeply into the world of dreamless dreamland.

…

**-The Next Day :0 -**

"So, the girls will be here in ten minutes, just so you know," Derrick announced.

"Okay," Chris replied, probably just so someone would answer.

"I have a bad feeling about today," I muttered.

"What are you talking about?" Josh asked, catching me talking to myself. I just shrugged and messed around with my Droid.

We were in the park, near the basketball court and the bathrooms, just sitting around on the grass. Derrick seemed absorbed in trying to convince Josh that the cloud did not look like a giraffe with an elephant's snout, but a mutant baby attacking the city. Chris, who would normally join in that conversation, seemed to be trying to analyze me. It was kind of creepy.

"Dude, just take a picture, it'll last longer," I said.

"You seem anxious," Chris shrugged and did in fact turn to join the current conversation.

"I'm going to the bathroom," I relayed, standing up and walking off.

I went into the bathroom and did the necessities in there before walking back out. From where the others were sitting, you had to go around the building to even get to the bathrooms. We were also right beside the side that many people parked on. That feeling in my gut seemed to be getting worse. What was going on?

Out of the whole city of Westchester, Nina Callas herself was waltzing into the park. I tried to walk away, but she spotted me and called out my name just loud enough so she was positive that I heard her.

"Landon!" she called, flouncing over.

I sighed and turned around. "What?"

"I just wanted to say hello," she said flirtatiously, batting her raccoon-inspired eyelashes and came up in front of me. I was officially a few inches away from being right up against the wall behind me.

"Well, you've said it, can I go now?"

"Don't be such a gentleman," she scoffed sarcastically. "Do you want to hang out sometime?" And just like that she'd bounced back.

"I have a girlfriend, and we're not exactly friends."

She reached out and attempted to rub my arm, frowning when I flinched away. "Massie doesn't have to know," she purred. "You know, I never stopped liking you."

"I need to go," I said slowly, moving to turn and walk away.

Before I could however, she'd pressed herself completely against me, backing me into the wall and pinning her mouth against my own. I tried pushing her away, but got almost nowhere. Her hands were firmly on the sides of my head and for someone with about five IQ points, she was strong. I was still trying to push her away though, to almost no avail. It was disgusting and it felt absolutely wrong.

To make the situation ten times worse than it already was, I heard the person who I really didn't want to hear.

"_What the hell is going on_?" Massie shouted.

Nina stepped back and smiled smugly. Oh shit.

…

**Westchester County  
>Park<br>Monday, July 2  
>1:14p.m.<strong>

**MB;**

I got out of my car, laughing along with Alicia, Kristen, and Olivia. I kind of walked in front, just slightly, as we made our way out of the street and into the grass. We walked up when all of a sudden Alicia gasped, quickly followed by Kristen and Olivia. All four of us came to a screeching halt.

Nina Callas was pressed up against my _boyfriend_, Landon, clearly kissing him. I scanned it quickly out of habit. He seemed, hopefully, to be trying to push her away, although I could've been wrong. Her hands were firmly clasped on his head, and I knew she was a pretty strong person for the number of brain cells she lacked.

"_What the hell is going on?_" I yelled, my voice dripping with absolute venom.

Nina pulled away, leaving Landon flattened against the wall and looking like he was positively dreading this whole situation. Her face was twisted up into a cocky and smug grin. Alicia, Kristen, and Olivia were all still behind me, and I could practically feel the tension bouncing off of them too.

I felt that eerie calmness settle into not only my body, but my actual voice when I said, "Care to explain?"

…

**So, chapter title for this already announced last chapter, but once again it is **_**The High Road **_**by Jojo Effect. Really good song, by the way. It's meant to be like Massie was going to take the high road and just ignore her the whole time, but yeah, that didn't work out. And Landon took the high road by gathering his courage and actually talking to Nina, big mistake. And to clarify, Massie wasn't really going to call the police; it was just a fake-out.**

**Anyways, next chapter has yet to be officially chosen…**

**Also, Nina is meant to be kind of close to her real character: snobbish, incredibly rude, trying to take the boyfriend, demanding, and kind of stupid.**

**Lastly, I was kind of unsure of this chapter and am not entirely pleased with it.**

**Review?**

**SDOW**


	6. ChapterSix: Ain't No Other Man

**No, Massie isn't going to really freak out, because it's Massie and she has her reasons. Read on? (: Minor recap at the beginning.**

**_-_:_-_**

**ChapterSix: Ain't No Other Man**

**...**

**Westchester County  
>Park<br>Monday, July 2  
>1:13p.m.<strong>

**LC;**

Despite the fact that I was a strong person (ask anyone), I couldn't manage to get Nina off of me. The initial shock didn't exactly help anything either. It felt incredibly _wrong_. Not to mention it somehow reminded me of a fish trying to kiss me.

Massie's voice became present, shouting, "_What the hell is going on_?" How was I supposed to explain any of this.

The only thing I could process was that in the explanation (Whenever I got that in) I needed to make it perfectly known that I didn't start it.

Nina pulled back, leaving me horrified and cringing against the wall. She turned away from me slowly, giving Massie a smug grin. On reflex, I reached up and wiped off my mouth, although it really didn't help much.

"Care to explain?" Massie asked, raising an eyebrow while her features switched to that disturbingly calm gesture.

"Your boyfriend tried to throat rape me!" she cried dramatically.

"Excuse me?" I snapped.

"Oh sweet Jesus, how stupid do you think I am?" Massie's chuckled dryly, clearly not finding real humor in the situation. Who would?

"Very." I was close to lunging, but a look from Alicia, who I'd suddenly noticed again, told me that I needed to stay back and keep my mouth closed until further notice. Great- note sarcasm.

"Clever," Massie fake-congratulated. Anyone who wasn't a complete airhead could almost see the sarcasm dripping off of her tone of voice. "Although, I'm pretty sure you forgot to add the part about you starting it."

"I didn't forget anything." Nina glared, crossing her arms.

"Then how the hell does that explain why he was against the wall?" Nina paused, clearly thinking, but got cut off when she opened her mouth to respond. "That's right, it really doesn't because you still haven't learned when to open your mind and close your legs."

"You bitch," Nina snarled, stepping forwards.

"I take that as a compliment."

"Of course you do. It must not bother you anymore after Cam did it to you too. Oh, honey, Dylan wasn't the only one."

That was taking it too far. I had never seen or heard Massie truly angry. All I'd heard was that Massie had an exceptionally wonderful mouth in the eye of the color spectrum and would only resort to using the full rainbow when she was majorly pissed.

Sure enough, a few _choice_ profanities came out in a line. Nina looked positively taken aback, and I'm pretty sure I had a similar expression.

After a few other responses back and forth, Nina stormed up to Massie and looked her dead in the eye. "This isn't the end of this."

Massie shrugged while Nina glared and then stalked off, leaving the rest of us in silence. The moment she was out of sight, the pure hatred left Massie's expression, quickly turning into mild anger and hurt.

"Massie, I can explain," I started, finally detaching myself from the wall.

"I need some time to think," she replied smoothly, turning around and walking off.

"Don't follow her, wait until tomorrow. It's in your best interests," Alicia said, noticing the position I'd taken.

I just sighed and left myself, not really caring if anyone wondered where I went.

…

**Westchester County  
>Block Estate – M Bedroom<br>Monday, July 2  
>12:05a.m.<strong>

**MB;**

I'd been thinking all day. Yes, I was hurt, but who wouldn't be after witnessing some messed up situation like that? And I was angry, but mostly at Nina. I had to trust my instincts and at least hope that Crane had been trying to get her off. I knew from past experiences that she was pretty strong despite her clueless personality.

Now, it was just past midnight and I was standing by the luggage carousel at the airport, waiting for my parents. I'd taken their SUV to pick them up, knowing that between luggage and their normal ways my car needed to stay behind.

I'd gotten text messages; the girls checked to make sure I hadn't completely flown off the handle, Derrick wondering where I'd gone and what happened, Josh offering glitter if I was feeling down, and Landon to see if we could talk tomorrow, seeing as how I wasn't in the mood. It kind of faded off topic on that last one and so if he showed up, he did. And if he didn't we'd probably end up on some phone conversation or something.

As far as I knew, the guys (except Landon obviously) did not know what happened. I was a bit worried about them finding out at all because we acted like a family, always had, although Derrick was the closest brother figure in my mind. Chris was by Olivia and Josh by Alicia. Naturally, Landon had kind of fallen into that place with Kristen as well. Back on topic, I was just hoping Derrick wouldn't freak out.

"Massie!" Kendra called suddenly. I looked up to see her and my father hurrying forwards.

They both pulled me into a fierce hug, nearly knocking me over. "Hey mom, dad," I chuckled slightly.

"Hey Mass, it's good to see you again," William said gruffly after we'd separated. Some fatherly greeting.

"Massie, darling, how was Montana?"

I helped get the two suitcases (one each) and launched into the explanation, in turn asking questions and listening. I thought they'd come off as more tired, but my mother had always been pretty up beat and I had the suspicion that coffee was involved. William was still reserved, but looked awake enough.

I did the job of driving home, getting home quickly. Because it was almost one at that point, we bid good night to each other with promises of actually talking tomorrow.

I trotted up the staircase, going into my bedroom and locking the door.

My mind was still overrun with thoughts while I peeled off my sweatshirt and climbed into bed, already donning pajama shorts and a T-shirt. However, I was not about to succumb to sleep yet. I leaned back against the pillows on my bed, crossing my ankles. The lamp beside my bed was on, giving off a warm glow as it was the only light on in the room. Besides that, a sliver of moonlight peeked through the curtains, but that wasn't manmade.

I picked up my copy of _The Book Thief_ by Markus Zusak. I was roughly halfway through it for around the twelfth time, maybe fourteenth- I'd finally stopped counting. The pages were softer than a new book from being turned so many times, some pencil markings were in it from things that stood out, and it also folded quite easily, even for a paperback, from my reading habits.

For reasons unknown, but mostly likely the low lighting or time of day, I was having a little trouble and resorted to wearing my rarely used glasses.

With glasses on, book in hand, and body properly situated, I started reading. A little over an hour, or so I assume, was when I finally lost control and passed out in the middle of a sentence. Classy, I know.

…

**8:45a.m.**

I woke up the next morning with my chin dropped to my chest, my glasses halfway off my face, and the book had literally dropped out of my hands and landed in a position where it was partially hanging off my leg. The sunlight was bursting through the part in the curtains, completely different from the cool glow of the moonlight from the night before.

With a slight yawn, I pulled off the glasses and gently laid them with the book on my nightstand. I also turned off the lamp that was still on.

I made the bed before going into my bathroom and peeling off my clothing, cranking on the hot water, and stepping into it. I lathered the thick shampoo into my hair until I could get a layer of foam out of it before rinsing it all out and switching the process to conditioner. The shower easily got to almost a full hour between shampoo, conditioner, body wash, and shaving. Not to mention I was relishing the warm water before I had to step out. Everyone knows that if you step out right away, even if it's warm, it usually feels cold.

Eventually though, I did get out and wrapped myself in a towel. From there it went to drying off and getting dressed before I was in the bathroom again, doing my hair.

That day's outfit came in the form of a denim miniskirt and a heather grey tank top. It only took a couple minutes to get a slightly tousled side braid into place. But by that point, it was already a little bit passed ten o'clock though because I'd been moving slow.

Picking up my iPhone and slipping into a pair of black and white flip flops, I exited my room and trotted down the staircase. William was already at work, go figure, but Kendra was sitting in the kitchen talking lightly to Inez.

"Morning Mom, Inez," I greeted quietly, slipping into the room with a hug for Kendra and a kiss on the cheek for Inez.

"Good morning, Miss Massie," Inez returned with a smile. She was a lot less I'm-going-to-get-you when Landon wasn't around. It was actually kind of funny, though I ceased to mention it.

"Did you sleep well, dear?" Kendra asked, knowing my sleeping habits. The doctor didn't diagnose insomnia, but I still believe that I had a little because my schedule was fairly messed up at times.

"Yep, just fell asleep reading again. How about you?"

"Wonderful, once I got past your father's snoring," she chuckled. One of her thing hands was wrapped tightly around her mug of coffee, drawing it up to her lips after the airy chortle.

"Cutting down the whole forest again?" I teased, grabbing my own mug and filling it with the bitter black liquid.

"More than that," Kendra countered.

Inez chuckled slightly from her position wiping the already clean counter. "I see where Miss Massie gets her humor from."

"The Massiekur of Sarcasm, they call me," I interjected, earning another slight snicker.

"Any who, one of my friends is coming over later, be forewarned," Kendra said with an exaggerated wink. Not only did the sentence just sound a little weird, to me anyway, but the wink was like she was trying to tell me something and failing miserably.

"As long as no baby pictures are involved, then I'm good," I responded. "I'll be up in my room working on something I'm writing. I'll be back down around lunch, okay?"

"Sure, sure."

I shrugged and took off back up the staircase, coming to the revelation that wearing the shoes in the first place made almost no sense, but I kept them on anyway.

Snatching up one of my newer notebooks and that over-washed orange pen, I sat down on the window-seat of my bay window that was literally like a little haven behind the curtains. I set the notebook on my lap and immediately going to work on where I'd left off. I think it was the start of my actual hopeful career as an author because it was the single-handedly most emotional piece I'd worked on.

An hour or so later, I set the pen back down and went over to something else at my desk. It was the actual cover of a journal type thing that I knew Olivia would love once it was finished. I picked up a thin makeup brush, prepared to grab the glitter and some thin glue to spread like you would with rubber cement, but realized that I might want to grab a sandwich or something since it was noon. Without really thinking about it, I put the glitter bottle in my pocket and slid the brush behind my ear before going back downstairs.

The voices from the living room told me that my mom's visitor was probably there. I also knew that she'd want me to be "good" and say hello.

"Hey, mom. Nice to see you Celia, Landon," I said, not fully realizing who it was that I just greeted. I kept walking for a few seconds before backing up and turning my head in a way that could almost cause whiplash. "Celia? Landon? Oh dear…"

Kendra chuckled, as did Celia. Landon just looked kind of hopeful and maybe a bit deterred by my intro. I can almost swear that I would've choked had I been eating or drinking anything at that moment.

"Nice to see you too," Celia said, politely stifling her giggles.

"Er.. Massie…" Landon trailed off awkwardly.

I did the only thing I could think of, which was kind of an odd decision. "Uh… Massie's not here right now. Please leave a message after the beep. _Beep_," I said quickly before completely backtracking. Once I was safely out of view of the living room, I took off up the staircase. Yes, running away. Smart move, you Block_head_.

With my super ninja hearing skills, and the fact that the rest of the house was almost silent, I could hear Kendra and Celia laughing again and asking Landon what was going on. Yeah, in hindsight, I'm not actually sure why I took off. Maybe my mind just works at a slower pace than others in certain situations.

I shrugged at myself, picking my book and my glasses back up. Might as well prepare for a stakeout, even though he'd probably show up soon anyway.

It wasn't even the night anymore; I just need them to read. The glasses were the sturdy plastic in dark purple, the inside pink. There was a little twinkly thing by the edges of the lenses. I slipped them on again and open the book, folding it back and perching in my window seat.

Sure enough, there was a knock on my door. "Come in," I called automatically, already fully engrossed in what I was reading.

There was a shuffle of footsteps, the turning of a doorknob, and Inez came in with a sandwich. I swear she was like a mind reader. "Thanks," I said, smiling when she handing it to me.

"Anytime, Miss Massie," she replied with her own smile before leaving, closing the door behind her.

Still reading my book, I took a bite into it and chewed slowly. My eyes were flicking rapidly back and forth on the worn book's pages. I ate one half of the sandwich, setting the plate on my desk that was just barely in reach and focusing on the book before I finished the food.

Another knock came on the door, this one seemingly more… timid. Again, I called at for them to just come in. And again, I wasn't really paying attention, my eyes trained on the book, eagerly going through each sentence.

"Are you going to let me explain now? Please?" Landon's deep voice rang out. And, though I had never straight out admitted it, I loved his voice for some reason.

"Hmm?" The words weren't actually registering at the time, in all honesty.

"I asked if you'll please let me at least attempt to explain now…"

"Oh." I turned the page, dog-eared it, and set the book down on my lap, looking upwards. He was across the room, standing awkwardly by the door and seemed to be avoiding any eye contact.

Silence.

"Well, are you going to come over here or keep impersonating a dying mime?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

He finally looked straight at me. "You wear glasses?"

"Only for reading." I took them back off, trying to avoid any further distractions. Mind you, I was in a miniskirt, so the best I could do was move my legs over so they were hanging off the edges of the seat. Slowly, still unsure, he came over and perched on the opposite end, finding a great (And fake) fascination in his hands.

I let out a quiet sigh, debating putting my glasses back on _again_ and continuing, or waiting for whatever he was going to say, if anything.

"Because you didn't see and I didn't have my video camera at that time, you have to trust me when I say that that incident was all her," he started, chancing a look up at me. My expression was fairly normal, maybe a little blank though.

"What exactly happened?" I countered.

"I don't know, really. One minute, I was walking out of the bathroom, the next she was talking to me, and then she was against me and you showed up. Which, by the way, I can say that it related to have a frog trying to kiss you or something," he noted.

"Kissing frogs is considered normal, maybe even romantic, in some fairytales."

A raised eyebrow.

"Even though that has no relation…" I shrugged.

"Are you planning my death?" he asked, that tone slow and kind of nervous.

I snickered. Landon moment, everyone. "No, I'm not. I mean, yes, I'm hurt still, a little upset, but that's a given. If any anger still persists that would be towards her, not you. For now, anyways. But… did you kiss her back?"

He looked kind of shocked to even hear me ask it. "That's a hopefully obvious _no_," Landon said, cringing back at the thought.

"It's still a completely normal question."

"Might I ask, what exactly you _are_ going to do to me then?"

I fought the urge to giggle again, trying to keep the serious expression. "Nothing, I guess. I mean, I can tell when you're lying; it's all in the eyes. It's pretty clear that you didn't want it to happen, and trust me, I know how strong the girl is. I got my first busted lip from her."

"Really?"

This time I did chuckle, nodding. "Major cat fight… I came out with the lip, but I might've left an interesting hand print on her face that could've bruised ever so slightly…"

"I really am sorry, Mass," he said, all seriousness again.

"I know, and I'll just have to forget it. I trust you at least brushed your teeth and showered if you want me to touch you again."

"Yes, I have, thank you very much," he chuckled, shaking his head at my antics. Well, at least the mood had lightened.

I paused. "You do realize it still hurts though, right?" I inquired quietly.

Landon gave one short nod, probably not wanting to dig any deeper into that statement.

I whispered, "And you do realize our mothers are probably both listening to this whole thing."

"Yeah, I kind of figured so," he said with another slight shake of his head. There was a strict reminder in the back of my head to try not to go into one of those Landon-induced hazes. Honestly, I had before, and it was kind of funny, but that's not the point.

"You left the door open," I pointed out. I paused, thinking something over.

"Oh, I thought that was you."

I raised my eyebrow and he shrugged innocently, which nearly put me in another round of hysterics. Landon, innocent? Ha, nice try.

"You know, I just realized that you have a paintbrush behind your ear…"

"And glitter in my pocket. What's your point, Cranium Capacity?" I challenged teasingly.

"Cranium Capacity? You can't be serious right now."

"Oh, but I am," I replied.

…

**Westchester County  
>Block Estate<br>Monday, July 2  
>2:05p.m.<strong>

**LC;**

"Oh, but I am," Massie replied with a kind of mischievous glint in her eye.

It was clearly something that would take both of us a little while to forget, but she didn't seem to want to murder me and least understood that I didn't want anything of that sort to happen between me and Callas. She played with the loose ending of her braid and seemed to be staring at the wall, amber eyes narrowed slightly in concentration. Maybe she was trying to get it to explode…

"So, any plans tonight?" I asked, wondering if she had anything up her sleeve.

She chuckled softly. "I had something in mind, but need a bit of confirmation."

"Oh?"

"Yep, give me about ten minutes. I'll be right back."

Massie stood up and disappeared into the bathroom, the sink turning on a few seconds after the door closed.

I just shrugged and checked my Droid. Nothing but a few emails and a text message from Derrick, detailing God knows what, I didn't look at it right away.

Around five minutes later, she came back out, looking fully prepared to pull what we'd all affectionately branded as the kitten face. Puppy-dog faces were apparently for us guys only, so the girls came up with their own called the kitten face. It didn't help that Massie tended to bite her lower lip, one of those things she knew made me have trouble keeping to myself. Double it with the big eyes and the twirl-y hair thing, it was almost impossible.

"I have a proposition for you," she announced, sitting down closer than she had before and tilting her head slightly.

"And what's that?" I countered.

"You four guys can pick what we do tonight, virtually _anything_ if you go along with a plan we have for Florida."

"What's the catch?"

"No real catch, you just won't know what the Florida thing is until the day of."

I pondered it while she teasingly bit her lower lip and did a sultrier version of the kitten eyes.

My Droid buzzed, thankfully providing a distraction.

**(To Josh, Chris, Landon)Derrick: Are we in on this?**

**Josh: It can't be that bad. I say yes if you guys are for it.**

**Chris: I have to say yes, for reasons.**

**Landon: I don't know. She's got the face going and it's killing me…**

**Derrick: Bahaha, the face. That sounds weird. Any who, I'll go with it.**

**Landon: Why not... But what do we do tonight then?**

**Josh: Wal-Mart! :D**

**Chris: It's been a while. We'll need Massiekur to get "The List"**

**Derrick: Yeah! Wal-Mart… Good times.**

**Landon: Do I even want to know?**

**Derrick: You'll hear soon enough. We'll announce our decision. Tell Massie to get the list.**

**Chris: Do it**

**Josh: Please?**

**Landon: Fine…**

"Sure," I responded to Massie, setting the phone down and looking at her.

That mischievous glint came back into her eyes. "Good, did you four come to an agreement on the outing?"

"Wal-Mart. They apparently want you to get the list." I put air quotes around the list and her smile tripled.

"Yes," she muttered happily, getting up and practically skipping to her desk. I went over and watched over her shoulder as she turned it on, went into the Google search engine, and typed in _500 things to do in walmart list_(.)

"Bingo," she announced, going into a website and hitting the print button.

"Should I be scared?"

"Quite possibly. Let the games begin…"

…

**Was her reaction disappointing? I hope not, but she trusts him and knows him well enough that it couldn't be full out fury. Had he somehow managed to get turned so Nina was against the wall, it would've been different.**

**Anyways, song = **_**Ain't No Other Man**_** by Christina Aguilera. Don't even ask… I just kind of like the song and there's not another man like our favorite Cranium Capacity. Any who, next chapter either **_**Lean Wit It, Rock Wit It **__**Party Like a Rockstar **__** Let it Rock. **_**Any votes? Fourth of July may be included next chapter, no guarantees.**

**Review?**

**-SDOW**


	7. ChapterSeven: Let it Rock

**So, I was looking at pictures of the White Plains Wal-Mart and it has more than one floor and stuff. It's pretty cool.(: And, I know you're supposed to type out all the numbers, but I'm not this chapter. Sorry. Too many numbers… Ha ha.**

**_-_:_-_**

**ChapterSeven: Let it Rock**

**Westchester County  
>Downtown White Plains – Wal-Mart<br>Monday, July 2  
>8:55p.m.<strong>

**MB;**

"So, tell me again why we're going to _Wal-Mart_ at nine o'clock when it's open twenty-four hours and we had all day," Landon said sarcastically.

"You know, you can drop the attitude that you've managed to pick up from me, for one. And for two, because it is a very strategic event so shut it," I responded. He quirked an eyebrow, looking at me like I'd completely lost my mind. Yes, it was possible that I had, but I wasn't going to admit that.

"Both of you shut up because we're at Wal-Mart!" Josh shouted happily. And I thought I'd lost it…

All eight of us were standing outside of the different cars, parked near the front, but not too close because this was New York and people were willing to go shop at _any _hour.

"Since I've never done this, I feel the need to inquire as to why you have that random stuff in your truck…" Landon trailed off looking into my open trunk.

Inside, there was a blue vest with a fake nametag (Halloween costume store!), another vest only in army print and kind of thicker, a pool cue, a stuffed teddy bear, a baseball cap in orange, a bonnet, a bib, a lamp shade, a superman costume, a super woman costume, an empty shoe box, a pair of jeans, a bottle of water, two posters with different advertisements, two outfits (one male, one female) that still had tags, a large jar of pennies, a beach ball that had yet to be blown up, and a box of those dollar-store beaded necklaces. He looked at it for a moment before slowly turning to look at the rest of us. The sober expression lasted a total of three seconds before we burst out laughing.

"Just for… certain… parts of the… list," Kristen pushed out through it.

"It's really quite necessary," Derrick informed, pulling a fake calm expression.

"Speaking of which, Massie, will you please present _The List_," Chris said seriously.

I grinned, reaching into the back pocket of my shorts (I changed out of a miniskirt in case I needed to do any climbing) and pulled out a thick packet of folded papers. "What happens in Wal-Mart tonight, will stay in Wal-Mart tonight. Are we clear?" I replied, looking to my right and left.

"Join hands over the list," Alicia added as I held it into the center. Landon had the strangest look on his face, but did as he was told with the rest of us. After a very odd noise, I pulled it back and let out a breath I had no idea I'd even been holding.

"Alright, should we go by one for each of us first then chosen at random, or use the hat?" I inquired.

"Hat."

"Hat."

"Definitely hat."

"Hat all the way."

"You know we choose hat every time."

"Hat."

I shrugged and grabbed a different baseball cap that had been with the one in my trunk. This one contained all of our names.

"Newcomer, do the honors," Derrick urged, shoving Landon lightly. I think he was seriously regretting going along with this. I mean, we were a bunch of nineteen and twenty year olds playing weird games in Wal-Mart. Very mature, no?

Landon shrugged and reached into the hat, pulling out a slip and reading it over. "Olivia," he announced.

"'Kay. Olivia, pick a number between one and five-hundred and sixty-two. Landon, try to keep your jaw hinged; I might need it later." He closed his mouth and gave me yet another weird look. Alicia, however, was snickering violently into her palm.

"378."

I scanned it and flipped a page, one blue nail trailing the length of the page. "Aha, you have to go in and ask people if they'd like to apply for a unicorn hunting license. In order to succeed, you need to get at least three people to say yes."

"Psh, sweet."

"Onward bound!" Josh announced in a western tone. Chris whacked him upside the head and Derrick started laughing with Landon.

All eight of filed into the store and kind of kept a slight distance from Olivia, making it as inconspicuous that we were following her. The first person she asked hurried away pretty quickly, the second said yes, and the third ran. Olivia paused, rubbing her chin and thinking.

A preteen, probably about eleven or twelve, bounded up to her, smiling. "I want to apply!" she screeched.

"Well, just fill out this form, and we'll get back to you," Olivia replied, pulling a piece of paper out and handing it to the girl, who trotted off. "That's two," she sang. The third came two tries later and we all high-fived her because it normally took longer.

"Alright, Olivia, next slip," Chris said, yanking the hat out of the pocket of his basketball shorts. I don't even know how he fit it in there in the first place.

She pulled one out and grinned like the Cheshire cat's twin. "Oh _Derrick_."

"Pick a number, Derricka." He glared at me, but still chose a number.

"248."

"Hmm… your challenge is to stare at another person until the notice, announce in a horrified tone that they are 'one of them', and then back away slowly," I said with my own grin.

"Do you have any preferences?" he asked Kristen. She grinned and pointed at a balding employee who was organizing women's dresses. Derrick nodded seriously and went over to lean against a rack a few feet away, staring intently at the man.

Two minutes later, the man finally looked up and realized that he was being stared at in an increasingly creepy manner. "Do you need help?" he said slowly.

"You're one of them!" Derrick whimpered, switching his gaze to an impressive terrified expression and backed away slowly before turning and flat-out running back to us. He cowered behind Kristen, which did no good since he was bigger than her, but oh well.

"Kids these days," the guy muttered, lumbering away.

"How often do you guys do this?" Landon asked.

"Twice every summer, usually. Sometimes more…" Josh shrugged.

Derrick got handed the hat and pulled out Josh's name.

"252, hands down."

"Put the movie they have playing in electronics on mute an make up your own dialogue for at least five minutes."

After that was over, that being a very interesting version of a Disney movie including a lot more swearing and suggestive comments, Josh pulled _my _name out of the hat. I sighed and gave Derrick the list, thinking about my number.

"Eh, 142."

"Go up to an employee and ask how much the big 'W' is out front," Derrick said in a disappointed tone.

"Hmph, I'm going to need to make this more interesting…" I reached up and grabbed the hat off of Josh's head (it was the cookie monster) and put it on my own backwards.

"What are you doing with my hat?" he asked, feeling his now uncovered head.

"Making this more interesting," I explained, pulling a tube of bright red lipstick out of my pocket. "Alicia, can you help me put this on so I don't look too terrible?"

She nodded and came over, carefully putting it on.

"Much better." I scanned the crowd, quickly picking out an employee and striding off. It was a relatively young woman, probably late twenties or early thirties, and she was ambling about.

"Excuse me?"

She looked over at me, looking me up and down and shaking her head slightly. "Yes?"

"How much for the big 'W' out front?" I asked nonchalantly, scanning my nails and looking back up at her.

"I'm sorry, but that's not for sale…" she said slowly, turning to walk away. I followed.

"Oh come on, how about an 'A'. You've got to of those. I totally understand if it's a supply and demand thing."

"Those still aren't for sale… ma'am."

"The 'L'?"

"Nope."

"You just want all the letters for yourself," I accused hotly, turning on my heel and effectively storming away, leaving one confused employee in my wake.

"What happened to the customer is always right?" Landon asked, falling into the order of things. I shrugged and handed Josh his hat back. I pulled a name out and seriously started doing a happy dance.

"Again, what are you doing?" Josh said, looking at me before effectively joining in. All the passerby's were staring at us.

"Landon, choose a number," I demanded, waving the slip around.

"13," he said with a sigh. Alicia was now the one handling the list.

"Walk up to complete strangers and say things that suggest you were friends once and see if they play along to avoid embarrassment. You must do to at least two different people."

"Damn."

Landon turned and walked up to another person. It was a business-looking guy with a Bluetooth in and a serious expression.

"Hey, it's been so long since we've hung out! How are you? How is Ruth?" Landon enthused in a tone I didn't know he possessed.

"I think he's been around you too much," Alicia reflected with a giggle. The man, on the other hand had managed to completely disregard Landon and was hurrying away.

"Well, that was one, I guess…" After the second person, who did in fact play along, but hurried away as well, was the last of that one. Kristen's name was the next to be yanked out of the hat with only two slips left: Alicia and Chris.

"Um… 292?"

"Go to an employee and ask which leading cold remedy will give you a really wicked buzz," Alicia announced.

Kristen shrugged and went over to do it. The employee furiously explained that cold medicines were not for that purpose, but when a manager walked away, gave Kristen the actual advice. She nodded seriously and came back to us, grinning. She reached in and got Alicia's name out. Alicia gave the list to Josh who scanned it eagerly.

"10."

"Go get the blue vest and nametag so you look like a worker. Walk up to another employee and explain seriously that there's a code orange in housewares, whatever that is…"

"I think it's a chemical spill. According to this, anyway," I replied, looking at another printed page.

Alicia disappeared and came back a few minutes later with her hair tied up and the vest and fake nametag on. She strode up to another work and said very quietly, "I believe that there's a code orange in housewares…" The other employee widened their eyes and completely took off for the section.

Alicia went back to the car and came back normally. That left Chris.

"Well, Christopher, pick your number since your last," Derrick replied.

"My name isn't even Christopher, it's just Chris. Oh, and 135."

"Well then, anyone up for Hide 'N' Seek?" Josh countered with a grin.

"Are you serious right now?" Landon asked incredulously.

"Oh come on, we can't always act like we're supposed to be responsible. We look young enough to be in high school, just go with it," I reprimanded lightly.

"You chose it, you're counting," Kristen announced to Chris. I took the list and tucked it back into my pocket.

Chris was required to count to 200 since we were in a multiple-leveled Wal-Mart. From where we were standing, the other floor was toys and clothing and such. I needed to get to the other floor…

Alicia and I paired and when he started counting completely bolted, leaving everyone chuckling at us. Kristen and Olivia caught up since we usually went to one section and split.

We made it to toys and then saluted, splitting up. Olivia wedged herself in the area between the bikes on display, sitting between said bikes with the huge cage thing filled with giant bouncy balls. I went over to a shelf and moved all the Barbie dolls out of the way, crawling behind them and putting the boxes back in place. Alicia was trying really hard not to laugh when she saw me casually lounging there, only in her sight because she was crouched in between multiple displays.

After a few minutes, the counting was obviously done. I could hear Chris as he searched around, looking up and down for where we were. There was a muffled groan and I peeked through to see Josh being pulled out from underneath a set of those electronic cars kids can drive around in. Not long after, Alicia, Kristen, Derrick, and Landon were all pulled from various places around the toys and clothing.

"Where are Olivia and Massie?" I heard Chris ask.

"No clue, there in toys somewhere though…" Kristen reflected. Alicia kept a believable mask on her face, even though she knew where both of us were.

"Olivia, Massie, everyone else is out. Get the hell out of the toys!" Derrick yelled. Olivia burst out laughing, giving herself away. I bit my lips and tried to concentrate on my iPhone screen, as I was checking my text messages.

There's an idea.

**Massie: Hey Chris, think back to your old nickname. Who was that nicknames partner? (: Smiles! –Massiekur**

**Chris: So not funny...**

I watched as he stared at something thinking about it. His eyes lit up and he seriously sprinted over to the shelves, yanking a few dolls in their boxes out of the way… on the wrong end. The rest of them ambled over and looked at him. He put them back and walked the length, stopping at the side I was on and reaching for one of the boxes. He slowly pulled it back and let out a brief "Aha!" when he saw me.

"How did you even get back there?" Derrick asked, beginning to laugh violently. I just shrugged and waved at them, pushing the Barbie's aside and hopping down. I returned them to their original places before bowing.

"Well, I guess we know Massie's secret now," Josh said devilishly.

"Watch it, or you might end up with my foot in your-"

"Alright, Josh is it because he was found first," Kristen cut me off. He looked at me and took a step backwards.

"Count. Keep in mind, this is the last round because we still have to get another round of things done," Kristen replied, shoving him off. He started counting and I grabbed Landon's hand this time, taking him with me. He followed, probably wondering where I was heading. I led us up to the camping stuff.

"What about a tent?" I suggested. "Josh never, not once, has looked in camping."

"That works. Together or apart?"

"Unfortunately, it should probably be apart." He nodded in understanding and looked around for workers before getting into a tent and zipping it.

I checked as well, thinking none were present, and crawled in. Around five minutes later though, a security guard (go me) showed up and asked me what in tarnation I was doing.

"Er, playing Hide 'N' Seek…" I trailed off with a grin. He shook his head and grabbed my arm, roughly leading me away from the store. I passed Josh and Chris, who burst out laughing. I held a finger to my lips and kept walking.

Once outside, I went over to my car, promising the guy that I wouldn't be any more trouble. He gave me a very stern look before trudging back inside. When he disappeared, I was in hysterics, all the way to the point where I fell flat on my hind end on the ground, but it was so funny that I honestly could not stop laughing. It was unexplainable and I was on the verge of those laughter tears, gripping my sides.

"Well, look who got escorted out of Wal-Mart," Alicia chuckled, coming up to where I was. Once she saw how hard I was laughing, she started too, followed by Kristen and Olivia once they showed up.

All four of the guys made an appearance. Landon looked confused, since he didn't caught and had done the same thing, Derrick was failing at trying to give me a disapproving look, Josh patted my head sympathetically, and Chris shook his head. I finally stopped laughing and managed to stand up, still holding my sides cause laughter like that hurt a little.

"How come you didn't get caught too?" I demanded, looking at Landon.

"I have no idea, but it was your idea, not mine," he pointed out.

"Massie, how come you always get kicked out during that game. We play it every year and you're usually the first out. Normally, however, Derrick accompanies you because you did have some diabolical plan."

"How were we supposed to know that it's considered inappropriate to hide in those big ball cages?" Derrick demanded. I snickered again. The summer after graduating, we'd climbed over the sides and buried ourselves, only to get kicked out and yelled at, along with a small fine for some "offence" that it was. I think that was just some scam, but oh well.

"The bouncy balls? Really Mass?" Landon said.

"It was so worth it," Derrick and I said in unison, high-fiving.

"Maybe we should go before they try it again…" Kristen trailed off, giving Derrick a reprimanding look.

"Homewards bound?" Josh inquired. We all nodded. "Later this summer, before going back to Iowa. Or maybe at the Wal-Mart in Iowa… Any who, peace." Olivia said goodbye and got into the car with him. They were probably staying together. Chris and Alicia left together next. The remaining four of us said our goodbyes. Kristen got into her car and sped off, followed by Derrick in his truck. They weren't staying together apparently.

"So, any fourth of July plans? It's in two days," Landon asked me, leaning against his truck.

"Well, duh. New York City fireworks, and trying not go get run over again. That wasn't pleasant," I shuddered and he let out a strangled sigh at the mention of it. "Only one good thing came out of that," I reflected.

"What good came out of that?" he demanded.

"You told me that that's the night that realization dawned upon Mount Crane."

"Are you implying that I'm a mountain?"

"Um… sure."

"Oh, cool. And I guess that true… Anyways, have a good night, Massie."

"You too." On reflex, both of us started leaning, but I turned at the last second and felt his lips come in contact with my cheek. "I don't think so," I said slyly. He quirked an eyebrow, whilst pulling back and giving me "the hurt look."

"Maybe tomorrow," I advised, climbing into my car and starting it. I blew him a kiss and winked before backing out and speeding away, leaving a dumbfounded Landon leaning against his GMC Sierra.

…

**(Completely debated leaving it here, but decided to include the Fourth and not base a chapter off Wal-Mart. Oh, and Layne's last name is Anderson, now Abeley because of past chapters.)**

**New York City  
>Anderson Penthouse<br>Wednesday, July 4  
>9:00p.m.<strong>

**MB;**

"Is that he sound of the Massie Block?" my eccentric aunt, Layne, called out, rushing forwards and enveloping me in a huge hug. She lived in a high-rise penthouse and threw big 4th of July parties every year, always ushering me to make my friends come with me. The more the merrier is what she usually goes by.

"Actually, it's Natalie Parker," I replied in a British accent. The other seven were kind of trailing behind me, not sure how to react to my aunt. They never were. Landon seemed the worse though, because he'd never been here, not once.

"Well, Natalie, you remind me of a girl I used to know. She's the same one that hasn't introduced me to Mister Black-Hair," she said, pointing out Landon and quirking an eyebrow.

"Mister Black-Hair has a name," I said, giving a fake pout.

"Does Mister Black-Hair happen to be a little _cozy_ with Natalie?"

"Maybe just a little bit."

"Hey you seven, get over here," Layne replied, catching them off guard. All of them slowly walked over. "I had a turtle once. I bet he could beat you in a race."

I snickered into my palm as she finally sighed and walked over to them, wrapping everyone except for Landon in a ginormous group hug. He was standing off to the side. I crooked my finger and made him come over to me.

"Aunt Layne, this is Landon Crane. Landon, this is my aunt, Layne Anderson," I introduced. I almost burst out laughing when his face flushed because she was clearly evaluating him. And cue interrogation.

"Are you dating my niece?" she demanded, narrowing her eyes. Yeah, she wasn't much of a nice-to-meet-you kind of person. After that question, we can easily cue my face-palming from where I stood to the right.

"Um, yes. She's kind of my girlfriend," he said slowly, habitually running a hand through his hair.

"Kind of? Oh, I see, friends with benefits. Been there done that."

I bit back the laugh and could see the other six were all desperately trying to do the same behind the whole scene.

"Yeah… Wait what? No, no, _no_."

That did it. I started another laughing fit, frantically keeping a hand over my mouth. He was shooting me desperate glances, but I couldn't save him because I was too close to falling over.

"I'm just kidding. I know you two are dating, blah, blah, blah. Just keep the intimacies to yourself and we can be friends," Layne said with a grin, patting his shoulder. She was surprisingly the same height as him. "Fireworks in ten minutes by the way. I'll see you all later," she vowed, turning and walking away.

"Hey, you've been officiated. Congratulations!" I said, giving Landon a hug. He returned it half-heartedly, still sporting a rather confused and mildly embarrassed expression.

"Intimacies?" he finally said.

"You may know it as hanky-panky." He paled slightly. I grinned, knowing I'd finally caught him off guard with that. "Anyways, do you guys want something to drink? There's different pop and stuff in a cooler over there. I'm not watching you if you get drunk though," I announced.

Kristen and Derrick exchanged a glance and nodded before heading in the direction of the pop. Chris and Alicia seemed to be heading for the deck. Olivia and Josh started talking to some other couple; it was completely out of the blue, might I add. I turned to Landon.

"So, scared off yet?"

"Nope, it's going to take a lot more than that. Although I may need to find one of my family members and have them question you." He winked at me, effectively causing me to roll my eyes.

"Good luck with that. I've already gotten talked to by my mom, my grandma, my grandpa, Aunt Layne, your mom, Inez, and even my rarely seen father," I stated.

"My mom?"

"That was interesting, to say the least…"

"I'm sorry."

"No worries. Are you thirsty or something?"

"Not really," he shrugged.

"Okay… Do you want to go on the deck? The fireworks are starting in a few minutes." He nodded and we made our way through the different clods of people.

Once we were actually outside (and had found a less noisy corner), he pulled me into his arms and just held on. I was tempted to ask what he was doing, but kind of found myself at a loss for words. _Damn Landon-hazes_.

"Damn what?" Landon asked, pulling back and looking at me curiously.

I opened my mouth, paused, shut it again, and then continued, "I said that out loud?"

"Yes…"

"Oh, that's cool."

"Are you going to tell me what you said?" he prodded, looking at me gently.

I pursed my lips slightly in thought. "Probably shouldn't."

"Oh?"

"You'd take advantage of it which would not work out in my favor if you knew how to counteract… _it_."

"It? What is 'it'?"

I sighed. "The thing where you either can't speak, can't move, can't stop staring, or totally blank out and have no idea what's going on except for the person that caused it."

"Oh… Yeah, I might have to make use of that someday," he nodded, grinning down at me.

"Do you ever get sick of looking down?" I inquired. It was always down. I really needed to find a pair of foot high platforms… that would be interesting.

"It's natural. However, if I had to look up, that would be different. Do you get tired of looking up?"

"Yes," I grumbled, crossing my arms.

"Really?" He sounded concerned, maybe a little hurt.

"No," I chuckled, "like you said, it's natural."

"Hey look, it's starting," Landon pointed out. I turned around and smiled.

He pulled my back against his chest and wrapped his arms around my torso, somehow managing to find my hands and intertwining them with his own.

There was a brilliant display, lighting up the sky with different colors. There was a series of loud booms, one of those ones that sounded like it was gentler and kind of shimmery, and then it switched to the booming again.

Another set flashed, all interlacing shades of gold, blue, red, and white. I couldn't help but smile. It was about twenty-five minutes, and went off with a boom so loud I swear my feet vibrated.

"That was amazing," I replied, still looking out at the distant night. Other shows were going off, but they were in the distance and unimportant.

"I know something else that it amazing," Landon stated, his words muffled by my head, which he'd apparently leaned against without my knowledge.

"So do I."

"Is it you?"

"No, it's you."

"I'm pretty sure it's you."

"It's the both of you!" Kristen announced after a camera went off. She'd managed to catch both of us when we weren't paying attention. "Anyways, let's go have fun instead of standing here." Derrick appeared as well and they dragged us off to the other four. They'd decided we were dancing. That was interesting.

…

**So, the song is **_**Let it Rock **_**by Kevin Rudolf. Good song. Anyways, I was debating an idea for the cruise, so I'm deliberating telling you guys it and letting you vote on it or something, or just randomly going for it… or leaving it out. It wouldn't actually make sense unless I added some sort of detail that would seem unimportant but be dire in the situation or something. Anyways, back to actual stuff happening in the next chapter.**

**Also, any song titles that any of you might like to appear sometime in the story?**

**Review?**

**-SDOW**


	8. ChapterEight: Halo

**ChapterEight: Halo**

**...**

**Note: Good news, Hiatus is off! And it would've been sooner, yet between (I know, I know, excuses are stupid, but these are at least somewhat decent; true too) that issue of technical difficulties –losing the drive itself- and writer's block, the chapters were a bit slow. Oh, also, I've had my drive at school for Environmental Science, but it's all fixed now so… Yeah. Sorry! Here it is(:**

…

**Westchester County  
>Block Estate<br>Saturday, July 7  
>3:00p.m.<strong>

**MB;**

"You realize that if you keep doing, that I'm never going to get any work done," I chuckled.

I was over at Landon's house, to which he'd assured that if I came to hang out with him so he wasn't so 'lonely' that I was allowed to work on a little project I was doing.

"You do realize that that may just be my point," Landon countered, still sitting behind me and trailing kisses across my shoulder and up to behind my ear. In all honesty, I'd probably end up with a hickey if he kept it up.

"You do realize that you told me I was allowed to work," I retorted, trying really not hard to be affected by it.

"You do realize that I still don't care," he replied against the back of my ear, his mouth curving upwards a little in a half-smirk when one of those involuntary shudders ran down my spine. "Besides, you do realize that you like it."

"You do realize that I do not."

"You do realize that you do too."

"Do not."

"Do too. Want to know something else you like?" Oh dear God…

"Do not, and no, I'm good," I turned and offered a lazy smile before leaning back against his chest and continuing to type all the information I'd written down.

"Dang, I was looking forwards to showing you," Landon teased.

"Sorry, but I can't say that I'm surprised… And here we go again," I sighed as his lips found my neck once again. Apparently, he was in a rather flirty mood. Hmph.

"You know," he started, abruptly pulling his head back and settling for putting his arms around my torso. "We should go out tonight."

"Is this your way of asking me on a date?" I chuckled, typing something and turning to raise an eyebrow at him.

He offered one of his infamous one-dimpled grins and nodded. "So, will you, Massie Block, be kind enough as to accompany me to dinner tonight, since you weren't here for our six month anniversary?"

"Nope," I replied, popping the 'p' and turning to look at his distorted expression. It was somewhere between disbelief and hurt. I chuckled, "Landon, I'm just kidding. You know I love you, and I'd love to go out with you."

He let out a relieved sigh, winking at me. I snickered and then grew serious. "You know, if we are going out tonight, then I need to go home and change." I replied, closing the lid of my laptop. "I'm already low on time as it is…"

Landon snorted. "Mass, you're already dressed perfectly," he stated simply, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"You're my boyfriend, ergo, you're obligated to say that," I pointed out, unwrapping his arms from my torso and snapping my laptop lid closed.

"Although both of those statements are true, I'm not saying it because I have to." I stared blankly at him, earning a chuckle. "Fine, if you feel more comfortable with it, then you can. But, I'll be outside of your house at six, so be ready then."

The two of us shared a fairly quick goodbye before I was in my car and driving home.

Three hours later, I was dressed in a Forever21 embroidered bubble dress that was black and white. I put on a simple pair of black pumps and used one of my clutches. Earlier, it was easy to tell by his tone of voice and word choice that it was something dressier than usual.

I had tied my hair into a low side pony and went downstairs. It was our little tradition, to act as if we were younger or something. I found it funny when Kendra decided in honor of it that she needed to give him 'the talk'. Landon didn't find it as amusing as I did.

Anyway, he knocked and the door and I went outside, resisting the urge to roll my eyes when his eyes swept over my form.

"Alright, I lied, you really did look great earlier but… wow."

"You're obligated to say that too," I chuckled.

"Once again, I'm just being honest…"

…

We went out to the Cheesecake Factory, and midway through dinner, I looked over at another table and saw none other than Celia Crane and a mystery man. The only problem with the mystery man was that he looked oddly familiar. His eyes were the same bright teal as Landon's, though I personally preferred my boyfriend's, the suit him better. Mystery man had light blonde hair and a jaw that reminded me of Landon's. And then it clicked…

…

**Westchester County  
>American Cheesecake Factory<br>Saturday, July 7  
>7:15 p.m.<strong>

**LC;**

Massie and I were out at the American Cheesecake Factory, currently just talking over dinner. It was my way of making up for the fact that she'd been out of town on our six-month anniversary. It's better late than never I suppose. I wasn't around for her birthday either…

Massie laughed at something I said, biting her lip to try and contain one of those mega-watt smiles that I loved. She was playing with the ends of her ponytail, amber eyes looking into my own green-tinted azures. She turned her head a little, breaking the gaze and her eyebrows furrowed uncharacteristically in confusion. Quickly, Massie switched her gaze back to me. I shrugged it off, figuring she'd tell me if it was really important.

A couple minutes later, she was obviously trying to shock me or something. "Uh, Landon, random question: what does your father look like?" she inquired, tilting her head a little. It seemed a bit random, that was correct, but innocent enough.

I wasn't particularly fond of talking about him, but I had told her about how my parents had gotten divorced when I was only four and how he'd just left, rarely making contact. "Meh, from the pictures I've seen, he's a blonde and apparently I have his eyes and facial structure," I answered, shrugging a little. In the midst of my response, a waitress had come and taken away the plates and such leaving the check.

"You ready to head back?" I asked and Massie nodded, biting her lip like she was hiding something. Strange…

After everything was taken care of, we walked out and her carefree mood seemed to have returned. She looked over her shoulder and tensed a little. I was not expecting, however, for Massie to suddenly whip around and put her arms around my neck, leaning up on her heels and pulling my head down the last few inches to her height. Not that I minded, though; I thought it was kind of hot when she took control, not that I'd say that out loud… Well, say it out loud often anyway.

I was getting pretty into the kiss when an oddly familiar laugh pulled me out of my reverie. I gently pulled away from Massie. She had a kind of defeated expression as she dropped her arms, biting her lip yet again. I turned my head away and furrowed my eyebrows in disbelief.

My mom walking out of the restaurant… with my dad. Celia turned her head, as if sensing my staring and stopped short. That caused my supposed father, more like sperm donor, to stop too as he looked down at her and then up to where she was looking. His eyebrows shot up and I vaguely felt Massie's arms wrap around my waist, keeping me from doing anything I'd regret later. It was a good thing that she did it too…

"What the hell are you doing with _him_?" I growled. Massie's hold tightened as she looked up to me with pleading eyes. I sighed, knowing that I should really keep myself from scaring her. Needless to say, Massie had never been that close to me when I was really and truly angry.

"Landon… I can explain," my mom sighed.

"This ought to be good," I muttered, running a hand through my hair.

"I'm sorry," Massie murmured, instantly gaining my attention.

"Hmm?"

"I should've told you that I saw them. I just didn't want you to get upset," she sighed. I moved my arms around her.

"Stop that, I love you, you know that. You did what you thought was best, which, in all honesty, was your best option. And I'm not going to lie and say I didn't enjoy your method of distracting me."

I kissed her temple softly and turned back to the situation at hand.

"So, who's the slut of the week?" my so-called father asked. All three of us gaped at him and I could've sworn there was a red flash in my eyesight. He held his hands up in mock-surrender. "Only kidding, lightening the mood, you know? Sorry, miss… brown-hair."

Massie raised her eyebrows, pursing her lips slightly in frustration. Nobody laughed at the 'joke'.

"Look, I think we need to try and sort this out civilly… Which starts with you… you, not killing him? Yes, that could work. Should we, uh… go back to the house and talk?" my mom suggested, giving a feeble smile. Nobody said a word, still. Massie's grip seemed to tighten on me lightly. I realized that I must have still looked undeniably and almost-eerily pissed. Then again, I was majorly angry and wasn't planning on acting all nice and dainty about it. Admittedly, I'd never be exactly _dainty_ in the first place, but my point was clear enough.

"I thought it sounded great too…" Celia continued with an apprehensive expression. Silence was still flooding the room.

"Well. This isn't awkward or anything… Landon, can you take me home? I honestly don't want to intrude," Massie rambled, and I nodded briefly.

"We'll see you at home, Landon," my mom said again, giving me a meaningful look before she walked off and out of the zone where the tension was thick. The awkward situation faded slightly, but not a lot.

In complete silence, Massie and I walked over to my truck. I had a distinct feeling that she wanted to say something, but didn't know how to put it into words. I felt the same way.

The night air was cool and breezy, wafting around us like an invisible curtain. We got into my truck and I started it.

The drive back was yet again silent- heavy silence that felt like it was suffocating. Somehow, though she was in a dress, Massie had managed to pull her knees onto the seat and was kind of curled up into what I'd come to know as her thinking position. I merely kept my eyes on the road and did what a driver is supposed to do when they're driving: the task had always come naturally to me.

Before I dropped her off at her house, however, she finally decided to say something, probably figuring that I wasn't. It was too complicated, in my mind.

"Talk to him. It sounds stupid, and, knowing you, you're probably too busy having inner conflicts to worry about what's happening, but just think, he might feel bad too. Don't shove everyone away, because it won't help. Trust it because it's coming from someone who knows. Anyways, I shouldn't keep you. But, Landon… I love you, alright?" Massie reassured me, turning my head so I was facing her and offering a half-smile. I attempted to smile back, but knew it probably came out as more of a half-hearted grimace.

She kissed my cheek lightly before getting out my truck in that oddly graceful way. Massie turned and waved slightly before she unlocked her door and stepped inside.

I switched my truck into reverse and drove towards my own home, admittedly curious as to what was going to pan out next.

…

**Westchester County  
>Crane Household<br>Saturday, July 7  
>8:30p.m.<strong>

**LC;**

When I walked into the foyer of my house, I'm not sure what I was expecting. Not much, truly, I wasn't sure what to expect, so I wasn't going to try to expect anything. Confusing, plainly, yet true. However, I guess someone up there thinks that the whole situation was just _hilarious_ because I walked in on my mom and, evidently, father making out in the living room. So this is what it felt like when people walked in on Massie and I- only probably worse. Because it was my parents. And that was just wrong.

Thankfully, they'd heard me when I'd walked into the room and walked right back out, at least having the decency to take a break when I, their only son, walked in. Uh. I loved my mom and everything, but I couldn't find it in me to understand her viewpoint at the time.

I dropped down into a chair, and just looked at my two parents. My mom was just sitting silently, at one point giving an almost undetectable, dejected sigh. My, ahem, "father" swept a hand through his hair (Is that where I got that from?) and seemed to be trying to think of a way to break the tension. Yeah, like that was going to happen.

"You know, this is going to be a lot more difficult now that I've been stuck seeing you guys suck face," I stated simply. Another thing I knew: I was pretty much acting way out of character. I think I'd picked sarcasm and pure wry humor up from the people I called my friends.

Celia gave me a somewhat stern yet exasperated look. "Landon, you have to try to understand…" she began.

"Understand what, exactly? That he left you, left me, left _us_? I kind of already got the picture on that. Why would you even want to be back with- with _that_?" I threw my hands forward in some wild gesture, now standing on my feet again. My hands wound into my own hair and I tugged in frustration, falling back onto the chair yet again. I was going to get dizzy if I kept it up with the standing-sitting thing.

"It's difficult to understand at this age-" Aaron, my 'father', started.

"Age is just a number," I pointed out vaguely.

"Right… So, uh, it's just difficult to understand?" His statement came out as more of a question. Apparently, I was making this difficult.

"It's not going to work," Celia told him in a tone hinted with… boredom? "Really, it's always easier to explain the situation then try to make them understand the traditional way. Because, we, or I, can't be sure how he's feeling."

"You do realize I'm in the room?"

"Landon, I know it's hard. Either hard, or you're willing yourself so strongly to deny it that it's actually beginning to work and you're starting to believe it's wrong. Yes, you're father left. He had issues then. It was for our own good- _your own good_. But why not let things be fixed as they are and forget the past?" she implored.

"Forget the past? You're asking me to ignore what he did? Oh yeah, it was so great for us wasn't it. All happy and cheery on our feet. That's why even when I was five, I still remember you staying up at night to cry in your room." Both of them winced, uncomfortable with my tactics. "Oh, and let's just not remember how I've seen a picture from like, ten years ago, and that's all. Does it even really matter, anyways? Why should I even care?"

"Exac- Wait, what?" Celia asked. Not even I was sure where I was planning to go with it. Meanwhile, Aaron was still silent.

"Why should I care what you do? I mean, you're a grown woman. I'm just your son. I should feel no concern for you, whatsoever, should I? You go out and do whatever you want. If you want to get your heart broken by the bastard again, I'll be waiting on the sidelines. Say the word and I'll get the glue to put the pieces back together." The sarcasm laced within my tone was thick and foreboding. I stood up again, this time making for the door.

"Landon, please," Celia said loudly, standing up. I turned around. Aaron looked almost awed, which was downright strange.

"What?" I asked in a monotone, staring at her face blankly, letting the raw anger seep into the emptiness.

"I-I'm sorry?" Another question; it was certainly not a statement.

"No, you aren't. Because this is just how it needs to go," I replied dully, turning and walking out of the room.

I wasn't quite sure how I was feeling. Angry, sure, but it was simmering down into something else. Guilt. Despondency. I felt just generally _bad_ about how I'd handled the situation. I'd never quite been in one like it before though, and I'd also never been particularly good at thinking things through in the direct heat of the moment, but who was? I went outside, trying (and failing) to not slam the door. I was kind of acting like an impudent child, I guess. Another thing to go on what I felt bad about after the fact.

I'd already changed after getting home, so my DC's ground against the little bits of gravel on the driveway. Mind tumbling with thoughts, eyes flickering around, I opened my truck door and got inside of it, but didn't start it right away, instead falling into a tumbleweed of thoughts. My Droid buzzed, momentarily pulling me out of my memory as I checked it.

**Massie: Ignore this if you're still talking. Though I highly doubt it. Are you OK?**

Am I?

**Landon: I'm… confused.**

**Massie: Confused on how you're feeling, or confused in general?**

**Landon: First.**

**Massie: … Do you want to talk?**

**Landon: I don't know.**

**Massie: Good answer?**

I wasn't sure if I wanted to talk either. Talking would probably help. And Massie had been able to open up about things to me and it seemed to help her. Would it still work in the reverse order?

**Landon: I think I should. I'm not sure if I want to. But I should.**

**Massie: …That little kiddie park by the High School?**

**Landon: Sure.**

**Massie: I'll see you there.. 143**

**Landon: Yeah, 143 too.**

I set my phone on the passenger's seat and turned the key, making my truck rev loudly before I backed out. Hopefully, Massie would be able to talk some sort of sense into my head. If not, well, I guess I was screwed until I could figure it out myself.

…

**Uhm, so, after so long. I'm sorry if that's disappointing. The song chapter is **_**Halo**_** by Beyonce and it's meant to point out that Massie wants to help him and stuff and he's hoping it will work. The chapters will be a bit slow, a couple days to a week between, unfortunately, but I'm doing my best. Thanks for all of you who have still supported me even after this long- if there is any left, that is.**

**Oh, and if it wasn't obvious, I changed my pen name- for those of you who were unaware.**

**-Splattered Teardrops**


	9. ChapterNine: Love Like Whoa

**ChapterNine: Love Like Whoa**

…

**Note: I'm sorry if this turns out all sucky (and I'm sorry for my lateness- yet again. Jeez. I really need to get on top of things). It just seems weird writing emotional Landon- he's like a pregnant woman… or a rollercoaster. I suppose you might be able to take that many ways, but anyways… on with el story-o.**

…

**Westchester County  
>Some Random Park Near WPSH<br>Saturday, July 7  
>9:20p.m.<strong>

**LC;**

I was sitting on one of the swings at the park, staring intently up at the sky for no apparent reason. It being summer and all, the sun had just set, yet you could already see (as Massie had once said in her typical poetic style) a "light dusting of beauty against a vast, velvety blanket of blue". Most of the stars that you saw near the city were a miracle, considering light pollution got to most of the views before you could.

A slight crunch of gravel morphed into the soft purr of an engine and then silence- Massie had just arrived. I was still unsure of how I was supposed to put any of it into words; she was the writer, I wasn't. She said nothing as she walked up behind me; in fact, I wouldn't have known she was there if it hadn't been for the quiet sound of shoes sinking into the little dusty rocks and the sudden presence of familiar hands on my shoulders.

"Hey." It was a simple, trivial word, but just the sound of her voice slipped through the haze like a sharp knife through soft butter – simply and easily – and brought me back from whatever ridiculous thoughts I'd been contemplating mere seconds before. Somehow though, everything seemed to break itself down into little equal plots, and I knew by her tone that she was pretty much expecting either a slow-winded or a right-off-the-bat explanation – no in-between.

"I think she knows that I'll have a lot of difficulty just accepting him, but the problem is I don't know if I can even do something as plain as_ that_, especially after I saw them making out," I stated, choosing to go with the quicker method. Even in the silence, I knew by natural instinct that Massie was either nodding or staring at some random object, but still thinking nonetheless. I'm not sure how I would've reacted if she went into therapist mode though…

"What did he even do?" she asked point-blank. Massie knew the bits and pieces of the story, enough to fit it all together in her own mind, but I'd never actually given out details, staying to myself instead.

"You already know that he left when I was four after the divorce and everything. And yes, he did send out some child support and everything, but I left out reactions mainly. He actually came to the house once, and they fought. I was seven, at school, and knew nothing about it until I turned twelve. I remember, even when I was barely in _kindergarten_, she always seemed down about something, was unusually quiet. My younger self held the memories of when she was bright and was subconsciously comparing the two for a while.

"I guess I didn't completely notice how much she'd change until she had high spirits again- eight years later. Once again, when I was twelve."

"What about what's right for you?" she inquired.

"What do you mean what's right for me?" I repeated.

"Well," she started, "you're thinking of all the way it affected your mom… but what about you? Did it ever occur to you that if you can accept him again and at least try to get past everything that it will help your mom in the long run?"

"How can I _accept _him when all he's done is leave?" I shot off, standing up and turning around. Massie, thankfully, didn't seem frightened by my sudden change in pace at all, but merely raised an eyebrow, challenging my own words.

"So, you're saying that there's no possible way. It's all a finite matter. Or, are you telling me that you just don't want to?"

"Both. I don't want to have myself trusting him again because what if he up and leaves again? What's supposed to happen then? And at the same time that I don't want to, I don't think I can. I think that it would be too hard for me to ever understand what he did that for."

"You don't think you can or you _know_ you can't?"

"…The first one."

Massie gave me a wry grin. "My point exactly. Listen, Landon, I'm not… a psychologist or a therapist or Dr. Phil, unfortunately, but I am Massie, and I know you enough to know that you need to find some way to work towards at least tolerating him so you can talk about it with them. Maybe if your mom and your- Well, excuse me, if your mom and _Aaron_ knew how your feeling and you told them exactly what you just told me, it would be a little easier for this to work out."

I finally gave up and nodded slightly.

She opened her mouth, closed it again with a thoughtful expression, and then reopened it once more. "Does this mean you'll try to be civil?"

"Try is the operative word. I mean- of course." I quickly backed down against her glare: that look was just plain scary.

Massie dropped the stony look and gave a small smile. "I'm glad you agreed, I really am."

"I'm pretty sure that I'm glad too," I replied, giving a sheepish grin when she raised an eyebrow.

"_Anyway_, I should go. You need to talk to your mom. Uh, knock on the door to whatever room they're in though," she added with a mildly disturbed expression.

"I'll remember that one for sure… I love you." I put my arms around her and she responded instantly.

"I love you too."

The two of us (in a rather cliché manner, no?) shared a long kiss before she waved and went back to her car. I went back to my own as well, but stayed seated or a while, my keys in the ignition but not turned to start.

'_You can do this'_ I thought. _'No, no I can't. You can… I think?' _

I finally turned the keys and switched the gear into reverse so I would stop the argument that was about to occur in my head.

'_Well, here goes nothing…'_

…

**Westchester County  
>The Crane Household<br>Saturday, July 7  
>10:00p.m.<strong>

**LC;**

I turned my key in the lock, being as quiet as possible. I slipped into the eerily silent house and closed the door softly behind me. Everything was dark, there wasn't an extra car in the driveway, yet my mom's shoes were at the door- oh, lord. She was here and my dad had left. Okay, so that'd be a good thing, if my mother wasn't one of those parents who had a major thing for unintentional guilt-tripping; at least… I think it was unintentional.

There was still no noise, save for my own quiet footfalls as I went up the wooden staircase. Nothing. At all. Okay… I went into my room and changed into a pair of white joggers and discarding my shirt into the basket by my door. When I looked at the door, the whole place was still extremely dark and noiseless.

Sighing, I turned off my bedroom light and got into my bed, knowing that the conversation wasn't going to happen tonight.

…

The next morning, I stumbled down the staircase (mind you, still only wearing the pants I'd slept in the night before) and into the kitchen.

"Morning," Celia replied stiffly, taking a long swig of her coffee and turning a page in the newspaper.

And here we go.

"You're mad." It wasn't a question, and it would be rhetorical if it was, but a statement.

"Not mad- disappointed, maybe. And perhaps a tad embarrassed," she clarified in the same scarily measured tone.

"I know it's not going to cut it at all, but I'm sorry." My mom looked up curiously now, giving me the obvious go-on look with her eyes. "I just feel like I can't trust him after everything he's done to you. Even when I was younger I noticed how downcast you were and I couldn't stand it. I don't want him to ruin you again."

"Ruined things can be put back together."

"But is it worth it? If they're put back together, they can easily be broken again."

She set her mug down, raising an eyebrow. "Landon… I never stopped loving your father." She ignored the new frown that latched itself onto my face with overbearing power. "I'm an adult, and have made mistakes before, and will continue to make them, but you, as my son, can't always stop them. I have to make mistakes, and if this is a mistake- well, only time will tell." My God, she sounded just like Massie!

It was my eyebrow that went upwards, followed by the other one since I still hadn't mastered that whole one-eyebrow thing. My mother's lip quirked at the corner a bit, but her face still remained smooth. I gave sigh and let them fall again. "I'll be civil."

"Is that a trying statement or a promise?" Okay, she was a bit creepy at that point.

"A promise."

"It's not… I can see right through that."

"I'm not lying!"

"Landon, you came out of my-"

"Whoa, there! No need to continue that part of the sentence."

"Landon. You are _twenty years old_. I think you know where babies come from. Because, let me tell you, it is certainly not a stork!"

There was a long awkward pause. "Um, you were saying?" I queried tentatively.

"Anyway, you were… _brought into this world_ by me, and therefore, I think I can tell when you're lying- even if you can't."

"I'll try then, if it really makes you so peachy, I will."

"Thank you. I'm not accepting your apology yet, of course, but Aaron's coming over tomorrow. And I want you to talk to him. Stop groaning. Whining too. Massie's better at pouting than you."

"Of course she is," I sighed, plopping down on a stool and leaning my forehead against the counter.

"Yep, and she actually wears a shirt… most of the time, anyway… so extra points to her."

Even as Celia walked out of the room, seemingly at least mostly content with what I'd said, I knew that this battle was far from over. Very far from over…

…

Meanwhile…

…

**Westchester County  
>Block Estate<br>Sunday, July 8  
>10:00a.m.<strong>

**MB;**

"Uh, where's dad?" I asked Kendra from where she was sitting on the stool.

"At work," she answered, sounding uninterested and speaking in an odd monotone.

"Everything alright?" I asked hesitantly.

"Great. Astounding. Bedazzled." _'Bedazzled? What is that supposed to mean?'_

"Mom…"

"Things aren't working out so well anymore, Massie. They've been rough for a while. We just need the time to work things out."

"…You don't think-?"

"I don't know, Massie. I really don't know."

I let out a long sigh and drummed my fingers against the grey and black marbled granite countertop. The normal white ceiling never seemed as interesting as it did in that second. I let my hand flatten out and instead moved it down to wear I could trace the pattern of rhinestones on the pocket of my shorts.

"I hope it will still work out, dear, I really do. I know that the connection is there somewhere, but I'm not sure that it's possible to reach it anymore," she muttered, rubbing her temples and taking a sip of stark black coffee.

"And if it's gone…" I started, concern and worry clouding my eyes a bit.

"Then I don't know if there is any other choice, hon."

I nodded with a deep sigh.

…

_**Note: **_**Okay, so, it's ****kind of**** late again, but it's here. And I know it's really short, but like I put above it's a bit difficult to write emotional Landon- harder to delve into his personality. Anyways, I'll try to get the next chapter up within a week or so, but no exact promises. Sometime within a few weeks, that I will do my best for.**

**Review? splattered teardrops**


	10. ChapterTen: Stereo Hearts

**ChapterTen: Stereo Hearts**

…

**Notes: So, had to rewrite this from scratch. -.- Not-so-long story. Anyways… I went to look at the notebook where I'd copied down a full schedule for their cruise. The page is gone. Uhg. On with it! Enjoy. (:**

…

**Westchester County  
>Crane Household<br>Sunday, July 8  
>1:00p.m.<strong>

**LC;**

Well, this wasn't awkward or anything. Silence – the kind of silence like a thick, suffocating, wool blanket – completely engulfed the entire room. I had an old note Massie had written me clutched in my hand (the same one buried in my pocket) and had my mouth pressed firmly together. Celia was calmly sipping out of a mug. Aaron was chewing some sort of minty gum and was exceedingly quiet.

"Well, this is fun," I stated sarcastically, running my thumb against the worn notebook paper.

"Yes, very fun indeed," Aaron agreed.

"Oh, for Heaven's sake, you two are pathetic!" Celia threw her hands in the air. "I will come back here in fifteen minutes. If neither of you have talked yet, both of you will lose something important. End of story."

Someone had been spending a bit too much time around caffeinated coffee and reality television. She walked out of the room, leaving Aaron and I to stare at each other, neither of us looking forwards to this.

"Well…" I scoffed at his bland attempt at saying something. "Look, I know you probably really hate me, but, just listen. I didn't want to leave your mom. A lot of complicated things were happening and it was for her good, just like it was for your own good as well."

"How could it be for our own good? Mom was just started to get on her feet and rising in the business world and you nearly destroyed her. She was screwed without a kiss because you're an ass!" I declared.

"Okay, she seriously did _not_ describe you this way."

"And I'm normally not," I deadpanned.

"Of course, but, look… Some things were happening. I couldn't let them happen."

"What thing was so important that you just had to ruin her like that? Don't give me that look; I think I deserve to know. And my mom does too! How could you be such a-?" I was cut off.

"Landon, your mother was underneath a death threat!" he shouted.

The only sound in the silence was the sound of a glass shattering against the floor in the kitchen.

…

**Westchester County  
>Block Estate<br>Sunday, July 8  
>12:00p.m.<strong>

**MB;**

I sipped some water from a glass in the backyard where I sat lounging out with Kendra. The sun beat down against our look-alike, lightly tanned skin, the rays attempting to break through the layers of sunscreen.

"This is nice, being able to relax for once," Kendra sighed.

"Yeah, everything has been so crazy lately…" I agreed.

She let out a very un-ladylike snort. "Crazy? Do you mean crazy as when you're supposed to be washing the car and you either get in a soap fight or when you're still washing the car and end up halfway on top of it with Landon?"

"Okay, that was once." She gave me a pointed look. "Fine, twice, but that's all I'm going to own up to."

"Alright, alright, I'll give you a pass for that. So, what would you say to going to the spa in an hour and getting massages, facials, and mani-pedi's?" she asked, turning to peer at me.

I grinned. "Sounds fabulous."

"Excellent. Silva has just been dying to meet you."

"Who is Silva?" I queried, tilting my head to look at her.

"Silva is the girl I've been going to lately to get my nails done. She moved from Russia a year ago to learn about Americans and American cosmetology."

"She sounds… exotic."

"You could say that," Kendra agreed. "So, where's Landon today?"

"Well, he was supposed to be talking with Celia and Aaron in around thirty minutes. My guess is that they'll be at each other's throats, Aaron and Landon that is, within the next hour or so," I sighed.

"Oh, Aaron, yes, I met him with Celia for lunch one day. He seems quite the charmer."

I sat upwards abruptly.

"_What_?"

"I assumed that you knew…"

I fell back against the lounge chair. "Mom, not even Landon knew. And he's her son. I don't know. He just seems really torn up about it."

"It'll all work out how it's supposed to in the end," she offered. "Now, come on. We'd better go get ready to leave.

**-An hour later, 1:00p.m.-**

"Did you hear about the new Belgian-inspired styles that are starting to hit designer outlets?" Kendra asked me, her voice vibrating slightly from the pressure that her masseuse was applying.

"Yeah, I think Alicia mentioned that one day. Apparently, they're supposed to be turning into the 'next big thing', but they always say that. I, for one, am a bit skeptical," I returned.

"Skepticism is to be expected, but the dresses are gorgeous. Lots of quirky, edgy angles."

I hummed in agreement, the noise being a bit bumpy.

"Alright, Mrs. and Miss Block, please, head this way," the raven-haired woman instructed. She led us through the warm, dimly lit hallway and out into another room where we were quickly ushered into chairs.

Kendra gave me a secretive smile and beckoned for a girl to come over. She had honey-brown hair and dark brown eyes, contrasting against a cover of pale skin.

"Silvia, darling, how're you?"

"Oh, Kendra! I'm fine, I guess. Daniel's being his usual self, yet again. Who's this?" the woman, Silvia, turned her attention to me.

"Massie," I offered, extending my hand. She shook it with a warm smile.

"Ah, I've heard a lot about you."

I chuckled. "I'm not sure if that's a good thing."

Kendra snorted and tried to turn it into a cough. My mother didn't snort very often.

"Well," Silvia began as another woman walked over with a quick introduction, "we'll just let you choose what you want done, and then start it."

The room we were in had some sort of polished floor with a marble-like look to it. The walls were a sandy tan color and the ceiling was a dark brown. Soft light blanketed the room through a few overhead lights with covers in another light shade of tan.

"Have you decided?" the other woman asked. Her name was Rachelle.

"Uh, yeah, just purple toes and can you do a gold and black glitter fill on my acrylics?" I queried.

She grinned. "Of course."

Kendra and I started up another conversation, this time revolving around writing.

"So, how's the draft you were working on going?" Kendra asked.

"It's finished, but I've been polishing and revising and editing to the very last detail of every chapter for the past month."

I'd sent manuscripts out before, not getting any bites, but still feeling the satisfaction of making it that far in the first place.

"Yeah, what is that about again?" she continued, looking at me curiously.

"It's the one about a girl who falls in love with a statue that she made. He comes awake every night. But she gets robbed one day and he breaks. She ends up forgetting everything she ever knew about him and thinking it was all a dream," I stated with a shrug.

"Sounds interesting. Does your dearest old mother get to read a draft?" she asked teasingly.

"Maybe." She merely laughed at me.

…

_**(How evil do you think I am?)**_

**Westchester County  
>Crane Household<br>Sunday, July 8  
>1:40p.m.<strong>

**LC;**

"I'll clean that up," Celia muttered hurriedly. She strode into the kitchen and came back out with a dustpan and swept the glass shards into it.

All three of us were silent as she proceeded to wipe the hot tea off of the floor. Once my mom came back, she sat down on the couch and an uncomfortable silence settled over us.

"So, um, should I make some more tea?" Celia asked timidly.

…

**Author's Notes: Apparently, you find me very evil. This would've been longer (And sooner), but I haven't had a good cliff-hanger in a while. So, I'll try to make the next chappie bank above 2.5K. I'm currently looking for a new schedule. I'll make it cool, alright?**

**-splattered teardrops**


	11. ChapterEleven: Put Yours Records On

**ChapterEleven: Put Your Records On**

…

**Note: Almost have the schedule back for the cruise. After this whole **_**thing**_** plays out, we'll move on a skip and go into the cruise. Sorry, again, for the extreme delay. Slight Mandon fluffiness later on. Once again. Enjoy, hopefully.**

…

**Westchester County  
>Crane Household<br>Sunday, July 8  
>1:43p.m.<strong>

**LC;**

Celia was in the kitchen, dutifully busying herself with the process of making tea. My… father sat awkwardly, staring at his hands. He couldn't look at me, which I knew. And I couldn't really look at him either. An unfamiliar weight grasped my shoulders, making my posture stiff and tense.

My mom came back in, holding two mugs of tea. She gave one to Aaron, earning a wry, half-lipped smile, and took a feeble sip from the other. She was already aware that I didn't prefer it. I stared at the beige carpet, taking in every inch of its immense fluffiness to distract myself.

"Well, I suppose I should start from the beginning. I'd been into minor poker and gambling, albeit at casinos, before the marriage. It has to do with this slightly, I suppose. After we got married it was pretty simple. The honeymoon stage lasted way after the honeymoon, resulting in _you_," he replied, looking at me pointedly. I grimaced, and Celia was beginning to look a bit on-alert, setting down her tea.

"Right, so?" I prompted.

"Landon, be polite," Celia sighed half-heartedly.

Aaron released another humorless smile. "Relax, the gene runs in the family. Anyways, I'd been out one night with the guys, playing poker and blackjack and messing around. There'd been a deal made between another man and I, dealing with quite a sum of money. I was confident in my abilities though, and had the match in the bag within the first dry minutes.

"He wasn't the sort of man to give up easily though, and what can I say? I stopped going, because I knew he was pissed off. But, he found me. And for some reason he completely skipped my own son on the radar, and went straight for the wife. He threatened to kill her if I didn't come back and give him the money. But, he couldn't threaten her if I was around, because I wasn't there and he wanted it from me.

"So, as of three years ago, I'd finally taken care of everything, and was able to come back. It took a _long_ time, I admit, and then a while to build up enough courage to come back and find you guys, but I did," he finished lowly, looking down.

Celia's hand had picked up the mug again, but was clutching it so tightly that her knuckles were white. "But you said that… you finally realized where your heart was," she accused desperately.

"I had to lie, because you can't exactly find the love of your life and inform them of that straight-up. It's… a difficult situation."

Neither of them seemed to notice when I stood up and walked out of the room, too intent on making up for lost years of _love_.

…

**Westchester County  
>Block Estate<br>Monday, July 9  
>10:00a.m.<strong>

**MB;**

I licked a glob of Yoplait yogurt off of a spoon, savoring the peach flavor. My legs were crossed Indian-style on the stool as I stared uninterestedly at the Journal News. I drummed my fingers against the granite once again and stuck another spoonful of peachy-goodness into my mouth, grabbing my phone.

**0 New Messages.**

I snorted and set it back on the counter, struggling with an internal debate. I'd talked to Landon the night before, but he'd sounded distant and hadn't said much.

Really… the most detailed thing he said was that his parents were evidently still very much in love and he wasn't sure how happy he was about it. And that he was still pretty happy for his mom though.

I felt like I couldn't just call him or show up or something, because despite the fact that I was in fact the "concerned girlfriend" (people label everything), I just knew that I'd have to let him come to me. I'd noticed that; Landon didn't show it often, but he didn't like divulging major things to people.

I violently shoved another spoonful into my mouth just as Kendra walked into the room, looking quite confused at my display.

"Darling, the spoon isn't out to get you," she drawled, chuckling as she grabbed a mug and poured coffee into it unceremoniously.

"Oh, I'm sorry, but I doubt that. So round and evil; the like," I retorted instantly, another forceful shove of peach-ness following.

She narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "What's on your mind?" she asked.

I opened my mouth to respond when William walked in, straightening his tie. "Morning, dad," I greeted automatically, giving him a smile before I turned back to my attack on the breakfast dairy food.

"Is she in a mood?" I heard him whisper to Kendra.

"Boyfriend troubles," Kendra answered smoothly. Someone was obviously a whole lot more perceptive than they seemed; either that, or I was completely blatant when something was bothering me.

"Am I that obvious?" I queried, looking up.

"Well, either that or you're completely unaware that you cannot stab something with a spoon—especially yogurt. Yogurt is soft and mushy," she laughed.

I groaned and put my head on the counter.

"She's acting like she's sixteen again," William chortled. "I'll be at work. Have a good day, both of you."

"You too," I answered on reflex. However, I was still staring at where he'd been standing in bewilderment after he left.

"What just happened?"

"That, Massie, would be the product of our decision to try counseling before we move straight into… well, straight-st-straight into…" Kendra stammered, unable to get out the word.

"You don't have to say it," I assured softly.

Divorce.

I stabbed at the empty plastic carton and Kendra took it away.

"I'm driving myself insane," I muttered against the countertop.

"Actually, love is driving you insane. It has a way of doing that sometimes. You care so much that it almost hurts, but you know them well enough to stay out of it until they want you in it," she responded calmly, patting my head.

"That's a little scary sometimes," I sighed. "I'm going to call the girls, and make something out of today."

She nodded in agreement.

…

**1:00p.m.**

Olivia took a massive swallow of her vanilla bean Frappuccino and blinked rapidly. "Brain freeze," she stuttered.

"Derrick tried to give me a haircut last night, five minutes before claiming that he loved my hair. I'm beginning to think he wants to make a shrine for it," Kristen giggled, taking a bite out of some chocolate biscotti.

The four of us (Alicia, Kristen, Olivia, and myself) were all sitting in Starbucks. It had been a tradition in our high school years: going to Starbucks every Friday and Monday, sitting in the very back corner booth, and talking. Even when I'd veered off a little, we still met.

"I'd be a little concerned if I were you! Then again… that one time we got Chris to get drunk with us… he started to _pet_ my hair," Alicia said in a mock-horrified voice.

They all looked at me right after that statement, making me pause halfway through licking whip cream off my straw. "What?" I demanded, making it come out without the 't' sound because of the straw.

"Oh, come on, you can't deny that Landon has never shown some sort of liking to your hair," Olivia laughed. "Josh named mine."

Yes, Josh did in fact name Olivia's hair. I think he'd named the right half Olive and the right half Via. Original, no?

"Well, whenever we sleep together lately, I normally wake up to him playing with it," I admitted. Their jaws all dropped and my eyes widened. "Oh my, God! Not like that! Do you all have a one-track mind?" I covered my face with my hands and Alicia let out a long 'Oh.'

"I was going to say…" Kristen trailed off and winked.

"You've been spending too much time with Derrington," Olivia snickered.

"He still hates that nickname," I agreed, peeling off the piece of chocolate croissant and sticking it in my mouth.

"You know, I can't help but notice that you've seemed rather violent when in the presence of utensils today," Alicia noted, pointed out the way I was stirring my drink. "I mean, it's plastic, not the Mafia."

"It might be a conspiracy," Olivia whispered, throwing a handful of glitter at us.

I sputtered out the sparkly pieces. "Where'd that come from?"

"Josh. He gives me glitter all the time," she responded dreamily.

All three of us laughed at her in response.

It felt nice, I do admit, to hang out with the girls again. In the back of my mind, I couldn't help but worry about Landon, and my parents, but I was also able to just release my worry a little and relax.

Alicia finally stopped giggling, giving a little pleased sigh at the end. "No, but seriously, Mass. Something bothering you? You know that you can tell us everything…"

They all looked at me curiously; also looking a bit worried in their own right. I shrugged finally, "The 'rents are… I don't even know. Counseling now, I guess. One minute they're arguing in the downstairs hallway, thinking I can't hear them, and the next they're laughing with each other like it's nobody's business. I mean, seriously."

I didn't tell them about Landon because it was a subject I didn't want to broach until I knew completely what exactly I was handling. Of course, I knew the gist of it, but there was probably a lot that I didn't know.

Would I ever even know it all?

…

**11:30p.m.**

I bit my lip and adjusted my glasses, proceeding to adjust my laptop screen and keep typing. My iPhone buzzed and it took me a second to realize that it was mine, and not some mysterious outer object.

**Landon: Are you awake?**

**Massie: Indeed… probably will be for the next four hours.**

**Landon: Well…**

**Massie: ?**

**Landon: I, um, I'm kind of outside your house.**

I stared at the phone for a second before literally scrambling. I struggled with my blanket and ended up falling on the floor with a loud thud. I jumped up, barely aware that I'd just face-planted and that my glasses were askew, and took off out of the room.

It was a good thing that both Kendra and William were already asleep at ten.

Going down the staircase, I nearly fell again three times, and it was like a burst of utter joy when I finally reached the front door, unlocking it and throwing it open.

Landon looked up and blinked, his eyebrows furrowing. "Did you rush down here, by chance?" he asked, looking adorable when he wrinkled his nose a little too.

"No…" I denied.

"Your glasses are sideways."

I crossed my eyes to get a better view and realized that he was right. "Oh, I knew that. I was just trying out a new look," I answered casually, grabbing the befuddled eyewear and placing it on top of my head.

He gave me a very soft smile.

Something clicked in my head and I resisted the urge to slap myself. "Come in?" I offered. He gave me an enigmatic nod and stepped inside with me, watching silently as I locked the door.

Naturally, we went upstairs into my room and I set my laptop back on the desk.

He sat lightly on the edge of my bed and I perched on the side I usually slept on, crossing my legs. "You have my full attention," I stated solemnly, setting my glasses on the nightstand. I only used them when I was reading something.

Landon looked at me for a moment, giving me a look that seemed to delve into my entire being. I started biting the inside of my lip. He opened his mouth and proceeded to close it again.

"I'm not sure how to start this," he murmured, properly sitting on my bed and looking down at his lap.

I said nothing, letting him get some cohesive thoughts, since they were evidently not into making an appearance.

He finally started to tell me and I quickly discovered that it was quite a story. Romance. Danger. Sadness. Seemingly lost hope. I just sat in raptured silence, my writer's ears tuned into every last syllable.

"I just don't know what to make of it," he finally said, leaning back. My room was dark except for the faint moonlight flooding in from the window mystically. I was a bit of a night owl, but preferred not to turn on the lights.

"I think you need to follow yourself. You already know you're happy for her, so let that be. As for your father, maybe you can try to build a relationship with him. You never did get a proper one, and now you know that he didn't want it to happen so badly. It's hard, forgiving and forgetting. I would know. But, it's either that or live with a grudge forever," I advised gently, one of my hands sitting on his arm.

Landon just nodded in agreement, mulling over the words.

Subconsciously, we'd ended up lying down. He was silently playing with my hair, deep in thought, his chin resting near my ear. It was calm and innocent and _us_ and despite the hidden slices of raw worry, it still felt like it was right. I was immensely glad that he'd chosen to open up to me, and it seemed to have helped somewhat, albeit he'd gone into the brooding silence stage. I already knew that that would pass eventually though.

I glanced at the clock, knowing that he was probably going to get up and leave soon, since it was nearing one.

Going on a burst of pure instinct, I asked, "Do you want to stay?" It was a quiet, simple question, but I looked up to gauge his reaction.

He gazed at me for a moment, his teeth dragging across his lower lip once. It pushed right back into place and he nodded.

I smiled softly, glad that he had agreed and leaned up to give him a careful kiss. And as an end to the night (or beginning to the day since it was one in the morning), my day had been pretty successful. Despite my violent yogurt stabbing, things were looking up. Landon was opening up, my parents were trying to work things out, and Olivia had her glitter fix taken care of.

…

**Note: Sorry, couldn't help myself. Got to have a little fluffy crap in there. After everything. Next update shouldn't take so long. That took a horribly long time, I know. I **_**think**_** that the next chapter will wrap everything up before it switches to the cruise.**

**Ciao. Smile?**

**-Splattered Teardrops**

**PS that screen-name will be changing again soon, so if chapter twelve shows up under a different name, ignore it.**


	12. ChapterTwelve: Tonight, Tonight

**ChapterTwelve: Tonight, Tonight**

…

**Westchester County  
>Crane Household<br>Tuesday, July 10  
>8:20a.m.<strong>

**LC;**

I walked back into the house, having made a decision.

Despite my difficultly within coming to terms with my… my _father_, I could just tell that they somehow still did love each other deeply. And I'd have to accept it, no matter how long that took. Thus meant that they'd probably get remarried eventually, and I didn't know how I'd feel about that, but I'd deal with it.

I dropped my keys on a table in the foyer and toed off my Vans, leaving them by the front door.

The brown shag rug felt as strange as ever beneath my feet, yet I was more intent and walking out to see if I'd left my laptop in the living room, because it most certainly wasn't in my bedroom.

I would know because I had been in there right before I left… and then went to stay with Massie. A smile graced my features at the thought.

Still having a mildly idiotic grin on my face, I ambled into the room and stopped short. My lips twitched back downwards.

Celia and Aaron were cuddled up on the off-white couch, asleep and oblivious to the world around them. With a heavy grimace, I snatched my laptop off the back of the armchair and left the room, moving upstairs to hook it up to its power cord.

I set it on my desk and plugged it in so it could charge while I showered.

…

**8:37a.m.**

I stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around my waist, tucking it into place before I walked into my room.

I went over and opened the lid to my HP laptop, hitting the power so that it could start up while I was getting dressed.

"Do you always walk around in a towel?" someone asked.

I snorted. "Do you always walk into people's rooms without their knowledge, Harrington?"

"No, but I do," Josh called. Chris just laughed—the ever brooding.

I rolled my eyes at the trio and went into my closet, dressing quickly. Still not paying much mind to the three, I sat at my desk and typed in my password before going onto Firefox.

"I'm going to go get coffee downstairs. If you want something, you can move and get it yourself," I stated dryly.

"So hospitable," Chris chortled.

Three minutes later, I arrived back upstairs, drinking from a mug of black coffee.

"So, who is the platinum blonde guy that opened the door?" Derrick asked, relaxed on the bed and texting like he owned the place.

Josh was fiddling with his hat, throwing it in the air and catching it repeatedly. Chris had taken the liberty of finding one of the few books on my bedside table and was reading it with a disturbed expression.

"Is Celia getting some from a hot mystery man?" Derrick continued, oblivious to my grimace at the description.

"Um, no. Your supposed 'hot mystery man' is my father," I replied flatly, plopping into my chair and powering up Firefox.

I signed onto Facebook briefly, for no apparent reason, and the moved on to a couple of things I needed to look up on Google.

Derrick kind of spluttered, and the other two looked up. "I thought your dad was dead!" he proclaimed.

I raised my eyebrows, still looking at the screen. "And where exactly did that theory come from?"

"I… You've never mentioned him before. So, I assumed there was nothing about him to mention. No memories or something."

I sighed, "If only."

"Wait, so has he always been here?" Josh added.

"Would you just stop talking about it?" I snapped.

"Yow, I didn't know you even had a temper," Chris guffawed, laughing even harder at the stricken expressions of Derrick and Josh.

I said nothing, moving onto a few components of editing video that I had yet to master.

"I think the most annoyed I ever saw him was when I first met him and pronounced his name 'Lan-Dawn' off the card. I've never been the best with pronunciations," Derrick finally replied solemnly.

"I remember that. He was looking at you like he was trying to murder you with his eyes, and your neck went all… reddish," Josh chuckled boisterously. "And then there was Chris, plotting silently in the corner.

"I'm always plotting silently, especially in corners."

There was a knock on the door and it pushed open. "Landon, Aaron and I are going out for a while."

"Have fun," I muttered.

"But not too much fun. We don't need another Landon running around here," Chris supplied.

I turned in time to see Celia blush and quickly leave the room.

"Great, you've probably given them an idea now," I sighed.

…

"You ass! I can't believe you just ran me off the road!" Derrick shouted. Josh cackled maniacally in response and started nudging Chris's car.

All four of us were playing Mario Kart on the Wii, and it was quite interesting. Josh loved to run people off the road; Derrick preferred to just find a way to either run them over or spin them around, period; Chris drove off to the side and hit you out of nowhere; I tended to use what I had and avoid everything else.

Chris suddenly twisted his hands and knocked Josh off the edge of a cliff, making the boy glare menacingly. "You killed me. Princess Peach is in the hospi – Oh, I'm back!"

I snorted and pulled up, ramming into the back of Josh's character, Princess Peach, and sending him off the edge again.

"Damn you," he murmured darkly, shooting me a vicious look. I grinned and shot my player forwards.

My character was actually my Mii, who looked a bit disturbing and had an oddly high voice. Derrick had informed me that it fit me, and Massie had been trying not to laugh instead of sticking up for me. Sure, maybe it was a _little_ bit amusing, but not funny enough that she actually did start laughing and fell off the couch.

Then again, that was after her and Alicia had been eating various candies for an hour. Sugar. Overload. It made her a bit… haywire.

Chris went down some random tunnel and Derrick nicked the side of my car before shooting in after him. I followed Josh quickly. Josh and Chris were on the red team, Derrick and I on blue.

After a while, we switched to more of a war game, though I wasn't sure which one because I wasn't huge on video games and Chris was the one who switched it.

"My vest is pink! Stop shooting holes in it," Josh grumbled.

"Oh, yeah, you're vest is pink. Our arguments must be _so_ invalid now," Derrick drawled sarcastically.

…

**Westchester County  
>Block Estate<br>Tuesday, July 10  
>9:10a.m.<strong>

**MB;**

I was drinking raspberry tea, humming quietly to myself as I continued on writing something in one of my dozens of notebooks.

"Good mood this morning?" Kendra asked. William had already left for work an hour previous. She paused. "I noticed Landon's truck this morning, around seven when I got up. Then went back to sleep… Did you guys…?"

"Mom!" I exclaimed, looking up.

"So, that's a 'yes'?"

"No!"

"Alright, it's a no."

"Yes," I answered calmly.

"A yes?"

"No, I mean, yes, it's a no," I sighed. Kendra gave me a bemused smile, grabbing her mug that she'd dubbed as 'The Myriad' because it was so colorful.

"One of the rare moments I can confuse you. Therefore, I'll be treasuring it forever," she said, giggling lightly at the expression that had dawned on my face. I didn't even know she could giggle. Or would use the simple sound in private, let alone public, for that matter.

"Savor the moment, as you age, they'll get harder to remember," I teased.

She glared at me. "I'm not old!"

"I never said you were. However, if you're denying it so vehemently, it's possible that…"

"Massie Block!"

"Right. Sorry," I apologized, my voice holding no sign of actually being sorry.

She narrowed her eyes at me and then sighed. "Do I look old?"

I actually started laughing. A tear-bringing, belly-gripping kind of laugh that made her stare at me suspiciously.

"I-I'm sorry, but I've n-never heard you actually ask that seriously before," I hiccupped, wiping my eyes.

"It wasn't that funny. Did Landon slip something into your orange juice before he left?"

"No… I think."

She smiled. "Well, it's good to see you back to being happy-go-lucky. Honestly, I think your friends worry when you get all serious at the university, and the turn into the Silly Rabbit from that kids' cereal in the summer."

"Silly Rabbit, Trix are for kids?" I questioned, grabbing the newspaper off the counter and opening it.

The headline didn't really catch much interest, but one of the inner stories did, and I started reading it. Kendra just shook her head. "Well, I'll be off. Have a fabulous day, darling," she said, exiting.

"You do the same!" I called back.

Not long after, my phone rang and I picked it up, midway through my sip of orange juice.

"_Massie!" Alicia screamed exuberantly._

I spluttered and started coughing, having choked on my orange juice. "Hi, Alicia. How are you?" I enunciated.

_She laughed, "Doll, don't be so hilarious. Anyway, I wanted to know if you wanted to go see a movie? Kris and Liv are out, and I know the guys are at Landon's doing games or something. Eh. You in?"_

"What movie?" I queried offhandedly, sipping my juice properly that time.

"_Snow White and the Huntsman."_

I paused, smiling. "Definitely."

"_Awesome, I'll be over in ten. We'll get ready together and gossip before we go for lunch and head to the movie."_

"Sounds perfect."

She hung up the phone, and exactly ten minutes later, waltzed into house like she owned the place. Alicia stole my orange juice, finishing it off and putting it into the sink. "Butt up, let's go. You showered last night?"

"Yep."

"Yeah, and Landon slept over. I saw his truck this morning. That… that _thing_ is anything but conspicuous. Like Derrick's," she snickered, grabbing me and dragging me off the stool.

I followed obligingly, going upstairs. She stepped into my closet, looking around.

"Alright, these," she started, throwing me a pair of black, high-waisted shorts with brass buttons. "And this." The next item was a flowing floral tank-top. "And these…" I almost got hit in the face with one of the brass-colored gladiator sandals she threw at me.

I booted her out of my closet and slipped on new undergarments before putting on the outfit. I put loose curls into my hair and she placed a fedora on top of my head, in the same shade as my shoes, and handed me a pair of white feather earrings.

"God, what are you, Fashion Fairy?" I demanded, clipping them in with a smile.

"But of course, Mademoiselle," she replied in a faux-French voice, fanning herself with her hand.

I snorted and put on some natural-shaded makeup.

"'Kay. How about an episode of Gossip Girl before we head out?"

We sat down on the couch and watched one of the reruns.

"So, Chris took me out to this little French place the other night, and it was so amazing. Until the waiter tried to hit on me and Chris informed him, in rapid French no less, something that I can only assume was highly unpleasant," she began, sighing wistfully.

Totally Alicia: to completely love how protective he was. Then again, it was a favorable trait.

"I had no idea he spoke French," I answered, tilting my head a little.

"He usually only uses it when we're…"

"Oh, my… Don't even finish that, please."

She just laughed, finding my obvious inability to talk about completely and utterly hysterical.

"So, this is how it feels for someone to laugh like a moron for no apparent reason. Well, I guess there is a reason, but it isn't entirely justified, it's just kind of… strange. Like, the reason isn't that big that someone should be laughing so-"

"Mass, you're rambling."

"I know…"

…

Alicia and I had lunch at a café, laughing at the waitress who was glaring at us half the time for a reason that was completely unbeknownst to us.

The movie was pretty good too, even though Kristen Stewart wasn't exactly my favorite actress. Sometimes, I thought she only had one full facial expression. I gasped when she laughed one time. Alicia seemed to find that funny too, and got shushed by half the theatre when she couldn't stop giggling.

The days we have.

…

**Alright, so, that was kind of fluffy too. They're leaving for the cruise next chapter though, so problem solved. I had trouble thinking of a song for this one. And the innuendos… yeah, they will lesson. Unless it's Derrick.**

**: i'll be a runaway**


	13. ChapterThirteen: All Summer Long

**ChapterThirteen: All Summer Long**

…

**Note: Last chapter's song credit—**_**Put You Records On **_**by Corinne Bailey Rae. This chapter is **_**All Summer Long**_** by Kid Rock. I decided to just start the cruise here. There's more drama to come anyway. So, off we are. Sorry for delays, once again. Enjoy?**

…

**Tampa, Florida  
>Embassy Suites Tampa<br>Saturday, July 21  
>12:00p.m.<strong>

**MB;**

The sun had us all sweating as we flopped down across the room. The eight of us (Kristen, Derrick, Olivia, Josh, Alicia, Chris, Landon, and I) had gotten one of the double-rooms booked with a door that connected us.

Alicia, Chris, Landon and I were all in one, with the other four in the room right next to ours.

"Gosh, why is it so hot in here?" Alicia complained, fanning herself as she sat on the couch with her legs over the back and her head hanging down. I flopped ungracefully into the spot beside her.

"Ask the sun," I deadpanned.

"Sun, why is so hot in here?" Chris demanded, pressing himself against the window and staring out at us. Landon just looked at us like we were crazy.

"Aren't you hot?" I inquired, using a hair-tie from my wrist to pull my hair up. Alicia held out her hand and I handed her one of the other ones I had.

The black-haired male winked at me. "Very."

Chris snorted and turned around. "Don't lie to yourself, man," he chided mockingly.

Alicia giggled and I bit my lip to keep from doing the same.

"Coming from the guy who was checking himself out in the window's reflection in front of the hotel," Landon quipped, smiling angelically until Chris whacked him with a pillow upside the head.

"Calm down, everyone! Derrick Harrington has entered the room! Your lives have just magically become _perfect_," Derrick declared, throwing open the door that separated the rooms and walking in with his arms up. He bowed and winked before sitting down on the bed beside Landon.

The dirty blonde eyed him for a moment. "Nice hairstyle there, brah," he chuckled. Landon huffed and reached up to fix it.

"Or, you know, everyone's lives got indefinitely worse when you waltzed in like a buffoon," Kristen stated simply, following in and letting herself fall onto the floor.

"We are leaving to get on a boat tomorrow. We got to use our time wisely people," Olivia decided, pulling Josh into the room with her and sitting beside Kristen. She started to braid the sun-lightened strands of Kristen's dark golden tresses, evidently not in the least bit affected by the heat.

"Landon, nice hair, dude," Josh muttered.

I looked over when I noticed Derrick send Josh a triumphant look. Landon's hair looked like it had all day—oddly windswept for such a burning, still day and the exact style that had me tempted to run my hands through it.

Landon, however, clearly did not know this considering he never carried a mirror on his person, and stood up, striding off to the bathroom and practically throwing the door open.

While he was off inspecting it, I thought about the past couple of weeks. Kendra and William seemed to get along better and interact more ever since they started the twice-a-week counseling meetings, but something still seemed off. Landon was slightly, and I mean _slightly_, more comfortable around Aaron. And Derrick was planning on proposing to Kristen.

"My hair looks like it has all morning," Landon said suspiciously, walking back out.

"I think that's the problem," Derrick declared.

"Rude."

"Now, boys. Calm down. Besides, we have something planned. Mass, Liv, Kris, come on. We've got to get started _now_ if we want to have a good amount of time," Alicia decided, standing up and dusting off her outfit.

The three of us stood up. Olivia went and started to rummage through Landon's and Chris's bags, looking for the right pair of board shorts. Kristen kneeled by her own bag to look for the body-paint.

I stood up with Alicia, fixing her ponytail from the bag for her when I noticed it was amiss before going to the other room and grabbing shorts from Derrick's and Josh's bags. It wasn't hard—they had pretty much packed everything by order of importance. I brought them back and dropped them unceremoniously on the floor.

"Why is she in our stuff?" Chris asked curiously. He didn't seem perturbed at all, just confused. Landon's eyebrows arched up in bewilderment when he saw Olivia throw a pair of his boxers out of the way and keep rummaging.

"Because, remember that whole deal a while back? With Wal-Mart lists and Florida surprise?"

The four nodded in perfect sync at Alicia's response and I looked at her. "Aliens," I muttered.

She snorted and covered the odd noise up with a feigned cough. "Anyhow, today is the time to make that up. We're decorating you!"

They stared back at her blinking. Josh raised his hand and she pointed to him. "Will there be glitter?"

Only Josh.

Never mind… Olivia would ask the same thing, when you think about it. They'd always been the sparkly pair.

"Josh, stop having Twilight fantasies," Kristen teased.

"Glitter shouldn't have been wasted on those fairies!" he shouted defiantly.

"Calm down, geez. And it depends on the person. Oh, here's the chart by the way!"

Alicia yanked a piece of paper from the back pocket of her cut-offs and read it out loud. "_Derrick to Olivia. Chris to Kristen. Landon to Alicia. Josh to Massie._"

"And we have to do this?" Derrick clarified.

"It'll be fun!" Josh replied. Chris and Landon didn't really seem to care.

Landon added, as if it was an afterthought, "I just ask that nothing… Alicia-like gets put on me. Like… her drawn, or written, out fantasies."

Alicia giggled. "I'll try."

"Let's get started then! Go change!" Olivia grabbed and distributed the four pairs of shorts and waved them off.

"This is going to be mighty interesting," Kristen laughed, brandishing one of the bottles and throwing it into the air before catching it again. She smirked devilishly.

The four walked back in and Alicia scoffed. "No, no. Shirts are off!"

They gave each other wary glances and did as they were told. Olivia took the shirts and set them neatly on the couch before grabbing three of the small bottles: pink, blue, and yellow.

I grabbed lime green, purple, and red and made Josh sit down on the bed. Kneeling behind him, I set to work. The four of us girls were quiet as we painted. Alicia and Olivia had dragged Derrick and Landon off to the other room. Chris and Josh kept sending each other furtive, worried glances.

On his back at the top, I took the red paint and stuck my finger in it, dragging a curved line across the top and bump at the bottom. After a few extra strokes and some lining of the purple to define creases, the odd shape began to look like a pair of lips. I mixed a tiny bit of purple into the red to darken it and used my finger to fill in the space. For the top lip, I just used plain red to show that it was lighter than the bottom.

Using the lime green (and my middle finger because my index was covered in red and purple) I wrote

…_**CAN KISS THIS!**_

right below the lips. I went in front of him, glancing over and seeing that Kristen was almost finished as well, and started to write some more.

_**ONLY OLIVIA…**_

Pleased, I grinned and added a few purple stars around it for good measure. Josh was looking down at himself and tried to see his back. In a strict tone, I told him to stop moving and drew tiny purple stars, red hearts, and green _O_'s all over his face.

I smiled brightly. "You're done, but let it dry. So… don't move."

He sighed and nodded. "Any glitter?"

"Didn't have any. Olivia's had like six bottles in her pockets though, so I fear for Derrick."

He snorted.

I took the opportunity to fully look around the room. The carpet was mocha color. The walls were a kind of darker cream color while the ceiling was just white. Curtains that matched the floor hung over the windows, but were opened to allow sunlight to flood into the room. The headboards were dark wood and the duvets were fading with a pattern even my grandmother would detest on; too many pillows, none of which were actually all that fluffy as they claimed, went about halfway down the bed.

Oh, well, it was still mostly comfortable and just one night.

"We're done!" Alicia and Olivia crowed, dragging Derrick and Landon into the room behind them. Derrick was peering at Landon's back and smirking.

"All of you up and in a line going this a'way," Kristen commanded, gesturing with her arm.

In orange block letters, contrasting against the very light tan of Landon's skin, Alicia had written: **ALL OF IT! **And under that: **King of C-PAW**

I snorted, looking at the odd little blue dots she'd put here, there, and _everywhere_. I gripped his shoulders and turned him around, making him wobble slightly.

"What does my back even say? Derrick's still giving me a creepy look." Landon pouted and I giggled softly.

**MASSIE'S PROPERTY** was done in that same shocking orange with a thick blue underline. She'd drawn a unique little property sign around it, like one would put in front of house, only it was in blue and pink instead of red.

"I own you, apparently," I said simply, patting the now paint-dried surface of his back. He looked behind him, turning in circles like a dog chasing its tail in the process of trying to see his back.

"Massie, are you dating a canine?" Derrick taunted, smirking. Landon glared at him and stilled.

"Are we ready to go?"

…

For the better part of the time we spent out, we walked along on the beach. The four of us girls were stifling laughs half the time as people openly stared at the spectacle splattered against all of the guys.

It was a nice day at first, the sun was warming all of us overenthusiastically like it had been when we first got there. The waves washed off frothily onto the sand. And then a bank of clouds started moving in from the corner.

"My Spidey-Senses are tingling," Derrick declared, wiggling his fingers.

Kristen snorted. "That or the scar on your ass."

"I fell on a very sharp rock," he defended, crossing his arms.

Something hit my nose and I blinked rapidly, jumping up a little. Landon must have noticed the shift from under where his arm was sitting across my shoulders and looked down in confusion. I was too busy staring cross-eyed at the water droplet on my nose.

The sky chose that moment to open up and start dropping buckets of water like there was no tomorrow.

The four of us took off running up the beach, sliding and getting stuck in the sand. Olivia was near tears over her hair, and Kristen, Alicia, and I were all laughing spastically. The guys were too busy staring at the paint that was dripping down their torsos.

We all half ran and half danced around in the rain back to the hotel. The person at the desk, Shelby or something like that, gave us a disapproving glare when we stumbled into the lobby, completely drenched.

The eight of retreated to our rooms, and separated. All of us girls showered first, toweling our hair as the guys took over the two bathrooms.

I combed out my hair, looking out the window at the heavy rain. That's all it was: rain. Figures. At least it looked like it would stop before tomorrow. Hopefully.

I shook out my hair and threw it up into a messy bun because it was finally dry enough that I wouldn't look like a sheepdog when I let it down.

A warm pair of lips brushed against the juncture between my neck and shoulder.

"How are you?" I asked, reaching behind me to run my fingers through the damp tips of Landon's hair.

It wasn't hard to catch the double-meaning in my words. His mouth lips quirked into a smile against my skin and a tingle tapped its fingers delicately against my spine. "I'm doing good. Better than a week ago, that's for sure. Oh, and I wouldn't go into the bathroom if I were you."

I turned around in his embrace. "Why?"

A quiet moan echoed from the bathroom. He sighed. "That's why."

I snorted. "It won't take long. Even their courtesy levels aren't that low."

He shrugged briefly.

"Shall we go to dinner?"

I arched an eyebrow and he grinned widely, planting a chaste but fervent kiss on my lips before dragging me off to round up the others. It was already six, anyways. Stunned, and swooning, I followed after him dazedly.

**Um. Here you guys go. Sorry for the wait. Thanks to any new subscribers!**

**i'll be a runaway**


	14. ChapterFourteen: Wild Ones

**ChapterFourteen: Wild Ones**

…

**Note: This chapter is specifically for anyone who has been faithfully following this. Especially belleoftheball2011 and Rstar, as their latest reviews are what gave me the motivation to finally get another chapter up. Song credit: **_**Wild Ones**_** by Flo Rida. And I made the cruise my own (the ship and everything), but used a real cruise schedule for July 2012… So, here we go…**

…

**Tampa, Florida  
>Sun-Ship<br>Sunday, July 22  
>2:30p.m.<strong>

**MB;**

The four rooms were side by side in a hallway near the middle-to-top of the ship. Landon and I left out stuff in our own. The passengers, despite the departing at four, had all been asked to be on the ship between one and three.

Our room had a coral theme. The bathroom was fairly colorful in its own respect. The bedroom had soft, albeit it short, white carpet. One wall had a large window set into it, and the rest had varying shades of blue in an ocean wave kind of pattern. The ceiling was just a dark blue. The beds had a pink coral colored duvet and white pillows.

"This is something," Landon muttered, looking around.

"I'm sure you've always dreamed of sleeping under pink sheets," I confirmed. He gave me an odd look and I just grinned innocently. "What?"

He rolled his eyes, responding dryly, "How did you figure out my life's ambitions?"

I shrugged and sat down on the edge of the bed.

"So, this is a college-life cruise or something?"

"That's what the pamphlet said," I confirmed.

"Pamphlet?"

"I think Mom collects them."

"Okay…"

"Lovebirds! Come on! We have exploring to do!" Derrick shouted, barging in and giving us a diva-esque look.

I shook my head. "Let me get my sunglasses…"

…

"So, there are four main restaurants, three lounges, the big pool and water slides, various other activities… This should sum up to be one interesting week. As long as the jet lag isn't too crazy," Alicia recited, flipping over another pamphlet we'd picked up.

"Dude, I lost my shorts the last time I went down a slide," Josh commented, his nose scrunching at the memory.

"You wouldn't have lost them if I wouldn't have loosened the clamp-thingies," Olivia answered calmly, looking strangely mischievous.

"Moving on… We should go here tonight," Alicia continued, ignoring the banter that was playfully escalating.

I peered over her shoulder, Landon's hand drifting from my shoulder to my waist and squeezing lightly. "_Shrimp on the Sea_? That's a lame name," I muttered. "But it might be good."

"That rhymed."

"What did?"

"Lame and name," Alicia responded, raising her eyebrows quickly. She talked with her eyebrows often, and everybody just kind of grew used to ignoring their wiggly-tendencies.

_Live a little._

"Anyway, I guess we don't know until we try," she continued. "Who's up for seafood?"

"On the ocean?" Kristen asked, tilting her head curiously.

"No, in the _desert_."

"On the ocean it is. Let's go for it."

"_Attention passengers. All of us are now boarded, it is three-thirty, so we're running very minutely ahead of schedule. The ship will now be heading out. Please enjoy your stay on the Sun-Ship."_

The peppy voice cut off and we all looked at each other. Derrick, ever the blunt, decided to voice all of our thoughts. "Are we going to be stuck hearing that voice for this whole trip?"

I laughed. "Unfortunately, I think the answer is yes."

"Can't you imagine it?" Chris queried. He pulled his voice up a couple octaves and flamboyantly continued, "_Attention passengers, the ship is about to sink. But stay calm! We have donuts. …Wait… Never mind! We have floating tubes! They aren't called donuts…"_

All of us just started laughing, and the male in question bowed.

…

"And I'll shrimp scampi," Olivia finished, handing the last of our menus to the waitress.

The woman smiled enthusiastically, tucking the menu in with the rest and scribbling it down. "I'll be back with it all soon."

"Is everybody on this ship notoriously happy?" Derrick asked.

"Maybe they're just trying to appeal to our age group. It's a shame that all of us are in that I-Don't-Care stage," I responded, lifting a shoulder.

The restaurant had a mixture of cool colors splayed across the walls and ceiling, and a few windows gave a magnificent view of the vast ocean and subtle change from blue to pink and purple in the sky as sunset approached. The tables were all circular with glass tops and black iron structure. The chairs had the same iron with various shades of leather seats and backs.

"It's so pretty. They really went all out," Olivia commented, looking around.

Most of us just nodded in agreement, observing the area on our own.

I saw two familiar forms pass by the open doorway and my eyes narrowed slightly.

_It couldn't be…_

The people disappeared and I shook my head.

_You're becoming a little paranoid there. Calm down. It's probably just somebody similar in looks…_

"You alright there, babe?" Landon muttered. His visage was a little concerned and I offered a smile to ease his worry.

"Just thought I saw someone I knew; don't worry about it."

He nodded slowly, giving me a slightly suspicious glance before rejoining the conversation.

Kristen and Olivia shared a quick glance and turned to Alicia. I saw it all and sighed.

"I have to pee. Massie, up," Alicia commanded, standing and telling Chris to watch her purse.

She grabbed my arm and dragged me up. Landon looked at me worriedly and I waved it off, following my closest best friend into the nearest women's bathroom.

"What's going on?" she asked instantly, looking in the mirror and rubbing at a smudged spot of eyeliner. She threw me a go-on look.

"I just thought saw someone. You guys are all paranoid," I replied stubbornly.

_Funny, you thought the same of yourself earlier._

"Well, who did it look like?"

I bit my lip. "It looked like Dylan and Cam, but I'm probably just a bit wonky in the head."

She shrugged. "It's plausible enough. Both of them go to some Virginia university, right? It could've easily been them."

"Yeah, but do you really think they'd end up on the same boat?"

"Anything can happen. Just be careful. You never know what that boy will pull. Come on; your lover is probably getting worried."

…

**I know that this is probably un-satisfyingly short, but I have big plans for next chapter. Sense the overload of foreshadowing there? Anyway, until next time.**

**xx**


	15. ChapterFifteen: Breathe

**ChapterFifteen: Breathe**

…

**Note: Song is 2 AM (Breathe) by Anna Nalick. And on to an awaited chapter. I'm sorry if towards the end you think he seems a bit off, but it's explained, and slightly foreshadow-y, so… Enjoy?**

…

**Open Sea  
>Sun-Ship<br>Monday, July 23  
>11:45a.m.<strong>

**MB;**

It was another gorgeous day. Gorgeous, clear blue sky that seemed to go on forever; that is to say, go on forever until it hit the horizon and was pressed against the ocean. The ocean itself was aqua and shimmering with sunlight.

The boys had gone off at eleven, promising they'd be back by two, and the four of us had just giggled and waved them off. Within fifteen minutes of their absence, we'd started betting on who would lose their swim trunks on a waterslide first.

Now, we were sitting around the smoothie bar, all wearing different washes of denim shorts with varying bikini tops and colorful flip-flops. I took a sip of mine, tasting the strawberry-banana froth lingering on my tongue.

"Alright, he's definitely an eight," Kristen proclaimed, using her free hand to point at some deeply tanned guy with deep brown tresses. "And before you ask," she continued, "I would never think of leaving Derrick."

For a moment she was quiet and then beamed, adding, "Besides, he's too good in the-"

"Kristen!" all three of us half shouted at once, going into another round of giggling directly after.

Alicia calmed down first, facing me. "Speaking of, Massie have you and-?"

"Before you ask me, no. That's like, the fortieth time somebody has asked me that this summer. No, alright? No."

She laughed. "Sounding a little embarrassed there, dear."

Olivia eyed us all. "You guys are freaky."

"Of course we are."

…

**12:00p.m.**

Our lunch was set before us: Caesar salads and fruity Jell-O cubes.

"I hate this little gelatin square things. They always run away!" Olivia proclaimed trying (and failing miserably) to stab one with her fork. She gave up and viciously anchored her fork in her salad instead, filling her mouth with the green leaves.

Kristen laughed and picked up one of the cubes, looking around and then flinging it at Olivia. It hit her forehead, leaving a green mark, and fell onto the table.

"Is everything to your satisfaction?" a particularly bland, seemingly-disinterested waitress asked flatly. Her nametag read: Bonnie. Bonnie looked at Olivia's forehead and rolled her eyes.

"Everything is marvelous, Beatrice," Alicia responded, smiling sweetly. The waitress huffed and walked off.

"And we've gone back to high school. Should we hang out in the back of Josh's van eating licorice and playing strip Go Fish again?" I snickered.

"Dude! Do you remember when Chris ended up naked and was sitting with a pile of socks on his lap for over an hour? That was amazing," Kristen chimed in.

"We used to think we'd end up singers and models and realty bigwigs. Look, though! We're turning into writers and artists and _corporate_ bigwigs," Alicia sniggered.

"That's only Chris."

"Meh, close enough."

We continued eating, gossiping and whatnot. Eventually we were finished, by one o'clock, and left the little place, heading back to the top beach deck. We lounged out on chairs, basking in the glow of the sunlight. Olivia was chattering on about these supremely fantastic hair and makeup tips she'd found when she was browsing Youtube videos. The latest makeup color trends, what and what not to wear, and how to get the best natural highlights without turning your hair into a snowflake-esque color.

"Thank goodness for smart people. I tried lemon juice and sun in fourth grade; my hair ended up turning a glowing yellow-ish and white color, and then went green because I was out in the sun too long," I remarked.

…

**1:42p.m.**

"Hey, I've got to go to go and pee and freshen up a bit. I'll be back by two, alright? If I'm not back by then, call me," I clarified, standing up and straightening my shorts.

Alicia peered over her sunglasses. "Want me to come with?"

"Naw, I'm good. Just call me if you get worried." Jokingly, I added, "You know there's a problem when I don't answer."

She smiled. "Alright."

I nodded, offering a half grin, and then went off towards mine and Landon's room.

I hummed quietly to myself, an older song by Anna Nalick stuck in my head. My flip-flops snapped against the floor and my fingers tapped my leg to the beat in my head. I thought I saw that familiar dark head of hair from the night before opening a door, but I ignored it and kept walking.

That was, I would find soon enough, a bad decision. Right as I was turning down a different hallway, my hand brushing against the railing that kept people from falling off the side of the ship in that particular area, I heard footsteps jogging to catch up with me.

"So, you are here. I thought I was delusional at first." A voice carried towards me. An all too familiar voice.

I turned around, feeling the walls of my mind starting to creep up again. "Cam," I greeted icily.

He smirked. "Massie." His tone was mocking, clearly making fun of the way I'd spoken.

I said nothing, pushing my lips into a thin line.

Cam sighed, scratching at his forearm. "Look, I'm sorry. No… poking fun. I just want to talk to you."

"Why? Haven't we already cleared up the that the balance between us is actually just an unnatural faux-boundary? Either way, it isn't to be crossed," I replied adamantly. I crossed my arms over my chest defensively.

He snorted. "I've seen it before, remember?" Silence. "Look, Massie, we ended this on a really, _really_ bad note, and I regret that. Come on. Can't we try _something_?"

"Like what?"

He reached for one of my hands, stroking it in a sickeningly tender way. I was too stunned (and disturbed) to pull it away from him immediately.

"I miss you, Massie," he murmured. His voice was low and drawling.

I yanked my hand away, catching up to present time. "Aren't you here with Dylan?"

He scoffed. "Details, details. How did you know that anyway?"

"Last night. I thought I saw you both, convinced myself it was a fluke, and now here you are. So, no fluke, unfortunately enough. I really don't have time for this, though, so have a nice day or whatever…" I went to walk away, fed up with his behavior.

Only I would have horrid enough luck to end up on the same college cruise as my cheating ex-boyfriend.

Cam's hand gripped my arm tightly, painfully, pulling me back. He pressed my back against the railing and I looked back, suddenly feeling a bit dizzy at the sight of the foamy ocean waves along the side of the ship.

"I thought we were having a nice conversation," he ground out through gritted teeth.

What was going on? Was he bipolar or something? It could make sense. He'd always been an extremely moody person, but sweet enough. Until we broke up. Then he was kind of like a gorilla on crack who's bananas had been stolen. Only somewhat kind when he got the bananas back.

"Get off of me," I demanded, pushing against his chest. He merely held on tighter.

The bar of the railing dug into my back, cold and unforgiving. It would probably be an eggplant-colored bruise if he kept it up—straight across my lower back.

He laughed. "Not until we finish this conversation. God. Is that a Little Virgin Mary trait? Or have you finally grown less prude?"

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"It doesn't. Right now, anyway. Eventually, it will be everything, I suppose. But, like I said, it hasn't come into play yet. Be patient," he commanded.

The bar pressed harder, the moment carving itself into my mind slowly.

"What time is it?" I asked casually.

"I don't know. One fifty-five or something?"

"Well, could you check? I need to know how long I need to remain uncooperative before giving in," I replied blandly. I wasn't quite sure where my new boldness was coming from, but it seemed to work a little.

He sighed and looked down at his right wrist. "One fifty-eight," he answered in boredom.

"Uhg, time crunch. What was it you wanted to talk about again?"

He smiled slightly. "Fabulous. Massie, I would really like to try to be an us again. What was our name; Cassie? We could be Cassie again. I know you agree, but I'd like you to confirm."

"I'm not confirming something that isn't true," I stated.

Within my pocket, my phone started to ring. A vibrant Nicki Minaj song started blasting out. Cam sighed in frustration and reached down, gripping my iPhone and yanking it from my pocket. He gave it a disgusted glance and I screeched as his arm wound back and hurled it.

There was a thudding, shattering sound as it hit some place on the ship, and then a quiet splash.

My phone was in the ocean.

"Fantastic, Cam. What if that was my mother?"

"Kendra can wait a Goddamn minute. Jesus, you're like a dog. Do you even know how to concentrate? Now, like I said before, if you could kindly confirm that what we have is real, then we can move on. Maybe even back to my room."

I scowled. "You threw my phone in the ocean. Why would I confirm our relationship that isn't even _real_ after you hurled my communication off a ship and sent it to a salt-watery death?"

"It's a phone, not a child. Get over it," Cam growled.

The bar was really starting to make my back throb, almost to the point of tearing-up pain. His hands had moved to grip my wrists, pinning them at my sides against another bar. He dipped his head, repeating his words right by my ear.

His lips stopped moving though, and then he kissed my neck.

It didn't feel good, or right, or Landon-y whatsoever. After everything, it felt cruel and sloppy. My back was in major pain, my wrists were starting to hurt, I was in a seemingly inescapable position, and I was going to cry if something didn't happen soon.

"Get off of me," I shouted, trying to move my knees up and aim for his groin.

He chuckled darkly. I attempted to get away again, but an almost full life of soccer and lacrosse had given him a distinct advantage over me.

"Say it, Block," he demanded.

I opened my mouth, ready to retaliate again, ignoring the very obvious, scorching pain in my lower back and wrists, but was ultimately cut off.

"What the hell?"

"Get off of her!"

"You sick bastard!"

Cam's head turned a fraction, narrowing his eyes. I saw the hands before I saw the person; Landon grabbed him by the shoulders and ripped him off of me, pinning him against the wall with an utterly dangerous look in his eyes.

Derrick grabbed me, pulling me away from them and back to where Alicia was standing.

She looked at my wrists, turning me around and looking at my back too. I turned my head to see her locking eyes with Derrick. "It's going to bruise."

He snarled and she put a hand on his shoulder.

Landon, meanwhile, was still saying something to Cam. "And if you ever even think about so much as looking at her again, I will throw your ass off the side of this ship. Are we clear?" he demanded.

Cam said nothing, staring openly at Landon. Cam's eyes were wide, a comic mixture of scared, disturbed, and mildly confused.

"Good."

Landon shoved back from him. Cam gave us all one last look. "This isn't done," he stated.

He disappeared around a different corner, his stalking, thundering footsteps fading off into the distance.

Within seconds, Landon was back by my side. His eyes, murderous, softened when he got over to me. He, too, looked over my wrists, his fingertips grazing lightly over the mark on my back. "I'm going to kill him."

"Finally, something we agree on," Derrick remarked.

"Now, before we resort to murder, could we please figure out what's going on?" Alicia asked exasperatedly.

That got three people looking directly at me. Great, more explaining.

…

**Note: So, satisfactory enough? Explanations and redheads next chapter. By the way, the first person to correctly state who said what, will have a special feature.**

**So, who said:**

"_**What the hell?"**_

"_**Get off of her!"**_

"_**You sick bastard!"**_

**Remember, the choices are Landon, Alicia, and Derrick.**

**Review?**

**i'll be a runaway**


	16. ChapterSixteen: Stronger

**ChapterSixteen: Stronger**

…

**Open Sea  
>Sun-Ship<br>Monday, July 23  
>2:07p.m.<strong>

**LC;**

I was furious. Or, more accurately, I was near the point of insanity. Insane with anger: that would be a new one.

Something had clicked though, completely. Massie's ex Cam was the same Cam from the park back in November. The same Cam that had casually asked about her. The same Cam that was apparently a sex-deprived psycho. And he was on the same ship as us for a week. Fantastic.

I looked at the marks on Massie's back, and my anger only seemed to grow, but I kept calm and didn't decide to burst down the corridor like a maniac and go after him again. Then again, if I did, Derrick would probably join me.

"Seriously, can we have some sort of explanation?" Alicia asked.

I gently pulled Massie's back against my chest, wrapping my arms around her waist and kissing the top of her head.

Massie shrugged. "I'm not entirely sure. I was going to bathroom and then he was there, being a sarcastic moron. And then he wanted me to confirm that there was an 'us' when there isn't. I was forced against the railing while he kept ranting and then you guys showed up and… God, it's confusing."

A girl suddenly came rushing up to us. Wild, tumbling red hair hung around her hair like some sort of fiery halo and bright green eyes were set into her pale face.

"Hey, have you guys seen a guy about- Oh… Um, hi." The redhead looked uncomfortable, wringing her hands. "Have you guys seen Cam?"

She looked and saw the way I was holding Massie, my hands now on my girlfriend's hips with my thumbs gently brushing across her skin. But her eyes zoned in on Massie's wrists, looking at the reddened, very slightly bruised color there.

"Shit. He didn't," the girl groaned.

Derrick's eyes flashed. "Oh, he did."

She looked down; she seemed embarrassed. "I'm sorry about him. He's… had a rough time recently. Did you see where he went?"

"Stormed down the right hallway," Alicia replied blandly.

"Thanks," the girl muttered. She then walked to the corner, turned, and then completely took off as well.

My eyebrows furrowed. "Alright, who was that?"

"Dylan Marvil," Alicia filled in offhandedly.

"Whoa, man, I swear, your face just darkened," Derrick noted.

Dylan, of course. The so-called best friend Massie had told me about. The girl that had contributed to the destroying the perfect little mural of a life Massie had created before. I guess, now, I wasn't entirely mad about that part. If everything had gone normally, she might still be with Cam. But at the same time, it was cruel. I'm a guy, but even I was able to easily comprehend that much.

"Derrick, you're right about something for once!" Alicia gasped in faux-shock. He pinched her shoulder and she whacked his arm. "Go kiss Kristen or something, hat-holder."

"Hat-holder? Not that again!"

Massie was silent, probably over-thinking everything again.

I looked up at the pair. "Do you both have the attention span of a walnut?"

Massie looked up at me, clearly grasping the sentence as a chance to go off topic from what just happened. "Why a walnut?"

"Because I'm allergic and it's the first thing that came to mind."

…

It was nine at that point. All of us had turned in early, knowing that with the different timing and our first stop tomorrow, we'd need the sleep.

Of course, that didn't mean we'd actually go to bed, per se. Just sit up and talk. As I was attempting (and failing) to do with Massie.

She was awake, more so than myself, actually, but exceedingly quiet.

"Mass, what did he say?" I asked abruptly.

She'd been troubled since the whole encounter, responding with absentminded answers and looking like she was analyzing every detail in general.

"I just…" Massie sighed, grazing at her lower lip. "I don't like how he acts like we are still dating. He acts like he knows me. He objectifies me. But when he doesn't get what he wants, I come close to being pushed off the edge of a ship. I mean, really? What gives him the right?"

Tears rimmed her golden eyes and it tore at my own heartstrings. I realized how much I hated seeing her upset. She blinked quickly and wiped at it, not allowing me to see how much it was affecting her.

I pulled her against me, rubbing her arms again gently. She sniffled a little, a quiet noise in a quiet room.

"Why does he have to be on the one cruise we choose?" she demanded, looking up at me.

Our gazes locked, but I was unsure of how to answer that. And so I told her the truth. "I'm not sure, but everything happens for a reason, right?"

She giggled quietly. "That doesn't really help me. But thanks anyway."

I kissed the crown of her head, reveling in the gentleness of her personality. She was like a feather. A feather made of glass. A breeze too strong lifted her up and left her shattered on the ground. Unless you caught her, of course.

"See, there's the sunshine again," I smiled.

Moonlight was floating in through the window. We had one of the more normal ones. The ocean is visible, dark and rolling in the night. A few far-off clouds seem stormy, but they probably aren't, and are really just cloaked by the usual mediocre blackness of night. It's a poetic kind of image, and admittedly gorgeous, and I could tell that Massie thought the same because she had her inspiration face on. Her soft hands grasped my own lightly, her head leaning against my chest. I loved the moments we shared like that: comfortable silence, resting in natural beauty, the lift of a confession gone, truth and love hanging between us.

I really needed to stop reading what Massie wrote. I was beginning to think in her words. And that was just weird.

Summer had already been so hectic. Massie's time spent away with her grandparents, Nina making a surprise appearance, Wal-Mart adventures, Fourth of July parties, way too many awkward sex questions, Massie's parents on the rocks, my own dad finding his way back into the picture, and now the infamous Cam and Dylan interrupting a supposed-to-be pleasant vacation. Life had apparently stolen the reigns and was having a keg-party. And everybody was already plastered.

It was nice to be out and to slow down. But summer was already half-over. In a month, we'd be heading back to Iowa. Back to where it all started. Except for, this time, I would make sure there weren't any creepy guys waiting to knock her out or Claire Lyons trying to drool on me. Actually, I think Claire was too scared of Alicia to come near us anymore. The Spanish Fury still reigned strong and proud.

"You've got your thinking face on," Massie remarked, her hand reaching up to stroke my face and brush my hair out of the way of my eyes.

"Just thinking about everything that's happened. You know. Since Iowa," I explained, leaning into her touch.

"I didn't know it was possible to remember all that," she noted.

Iowa. Creepy men, scary blondes, hallway run-ins, passing glances, broken walls, car accidents, and a new relationship that quickly proved itself to be the real thing.

"We live screwed up lives," I added. "I mean, think about all that has happened."

She sighed. "I don't think my mind can take that right now. I'm tired."

"Then go to sleep," I teased. I moved a hand and lightly pinched her side. She started and gave me a look.

"Not in the sleepy sort of way. Just worn-out. And don't Taser me," she grumbled, giving me a playful whack on the bicep.

I leaned down and pressed a kiss to her lips. "Would you rather I keep my hands to myself at all times?"

True to her part, she actually took a moment to debate the matter in her head, looking at the ceiling. "I think I'll have to go with no, mainly because that time you attempted to braid my hair felt good, even though it looked more like Josh had done it."

"How am I supposed to know how to braid things?"

She shrugged. "Practice, Crane. Practice."

I yawned, pulling her against me. "Don't call me Crane."

"Well, what would you prefer I call you?" she queried.

"My name."

"But that is your-" she began to protest.

"I don't mean my surname either. The name you'll someday have attached to your first name. Just use my first, and we'll be good."

I'm not entirely sure she caught the last piece of the sentence, because her cheeks had turned a rosy pink. "Are you implying that we're going to get married?"

"Well, yes, one day. But that's a different conversation for a different day. Do you not want to someday?"

"No. It was just rather… shocking to hear it come out of your mouth."

"Yes, we'll be married, have six hamsters and two dogs, and have twenty-three children," I muttered, my voice a bit hazy as my system tried to shut down for the night.

She blinked innocently up at me. "_Twenty-three? _That sounds like it would be immensely painful for… down there. And we are not having six hamsters. Those things die too quickly. The dogs sound nice though."

I chuckled. "Yep. And we'll even name one Bark Jacobs."

"That wasn't very punny."

"That was worse."

"Yes, well, I do it because I love you."

I pulled the comforter over us, nuzzling my face into her hair. "I love you too."

I instinctively knew that she was smiling. "Goodnight," she whispered into the darkness.

My arms encircled her. "Sleep well."

I blindly reached over and shut off the lamp.

Night closed in.

…

**Oi. Let me know how that was. Didn't exactly turn out how I expected, but oh well.**

**Review?**

**xx**


	17. ChapterSeventeen: Tonight Tonight

**ChapterSeventeen: Tonight, Tonight**

…

**Note: Last chapter "Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You)" by Kelly Clarkson. This chapter is by Hot Chelle Ray.**

…

**Cozumel, Mexico  
>Sun-Ship<br>Tuesday, July 24  
>9:10a.m.<strong>

**MB;**

I could already tell how gorgeous the place was. We pulled into the dock beside a beach of smooth, white sand. The water was a clear, perfect cerulean color that glimmered with every ray of light that fell on it. It was gorgeous.

Landon came up next to me on the dock, lightly touching my waist.

"It's gorgeous," I remarked unnecessarily.

He smiled at me. "Second most gorgeous thing I've seen today."

I looked at him. "You're so cheesy." But I was smiling anyway.

"You know you love it," he replied cheekily, hip-checking me gently.

Alicia walked out. "Spongebob, Patrick, get your asses moving!" she shouted. Several other passengers gave her weird or offended looks.

"Wait, who's Spongebob and who's Patrick?" I asked.

"Doesn't matter. Get a move on," Kristen declared, dragging Derrick and Chris both out from a hallway. Josh and Olivia nonchalantly appeared moments later.

We walked out down to the meeting spot, a town square-like area with the type of stone pathway that clicked wistfully with every step you took. It was a mesmerizing kind of sound, and all seven of them gave me a strange look when I smiled downwards at the path. I just shrugged it off.

The tour-guide stood next to a big orange, double-level tour bus. It had a giant sombrero perched on the hood and the words 'Excel Tours' on the side in both the English and Spanish version.

"All aboard!" the woman called. She had deep brown hair and twinkling coffee eyes. Her voice was a thick drawl, her r's naturally rolling.

We all moved and got onto the bus. Landon's hand still held my gently, and every once in a while, he would lean over and kiss my temple or make one of cheeky comments to get me to smile.

The tour was fascinating. There was a menagerie of different shops and stands. The roads were a lot more crowded than we expected. According to the tour guide, though, it was actually a pretty fast pace when compared to the usual streets. Derrick started. "I am not moving to Mexico, then. New York traffic is already terrible enough. Though Iowa isn't so bad…" Derrick and Kristen started discussing the levels of traffic throughout the day while the tour continued.

"That's odd," Landon commented. He nudged me lightly with his shoulder and pointed a spot out with his free hand.

We were actually on the top level, a light breeze fiddling with our hair. It had an exceptional view, especially where he was pointing. It was a cute, small stand. Colorful streamers hung around the top of a wooden base. Instead of pottery or food or clothing or something, it had a bunch of trinkets. Feathered masks with shiny beads or little figurines were spread out across a table. A little girl sat behind it, hands clasped as her mother talked to an apparent customer. The girl looked up at us and waved cheerily with a brilliant, one-tooth-missing grin. I smiled and waved back at her, bumping Landon with my shoulder so he'd do the same.

The girl seemed content, looking back down to play with one of the figurines.

"I'll write something about it," I decided thoughtfully. Landon gazed at me.

"What kind of something?"

I glanced back at the girl as the tour guide rambled and the bus's engine growled. "Something paranormal. It fits, if you ask me."

He looked over and then looked back to me and nodded. "Definitely," he agreed.

There was a lot of other places along the way. The sun pressed down on us and Olivia repeatedly fanned herself. She did such by taking off her white fedora that has a thin black band with a bow and waving it like one would with one of those Japanese hand fans.

Kristen glanced at her. "Would you stop doing that?"

"Doing what?" Olivia responded. Alicia snickered into the palm of my hand.

Kristen stole the hat off of Derrick's head, ignoring his surprised protest, and imitated Olivia. The lighter blonde of the two just stuck out her tongue. "Don't hate, Krissy. Celebrate!" she proclaimed.

Kristen laughed it off, giving Derrick back his hat. "Your head is sweating," she states casually, ruffling his hair.

We're sitting in the back, and several of the other tourists turn around to give us annoyed looks. The particular tour was for our cruise only, which meant that it was a bunch of college/university kids trying to relax and party.

Alicia, always the most charming out of all eight of us, flipped a particularly nosy pair off and they turned around sheepishly. She sighed in satisfaction, giving us both a relaxed look.

"And that, folks, is how to get ordinary people to leave you alone."

…

A few hours later found us wandering through town. We had just stopped at lunch at this lovely little outdoor restaurant. They had amazing tostadas with their own homemade tortillas. All of us were even encouraged to try their cinnamon rice-milk, something I swore I wouldn't give in to. But it was good, so I had no regrets. I guess I can be easily persuaded when it comes to food.

"We should go dancing tonight. After the ship leaves port, there is going to be a huge buffet and tons of dancing in honor of our first stop. A chance to actually dress up, considering it feels awkward to go out in sexy heels and a rocking cocktail dress at ten in the morning," Kristen told us all.

The guys gave each other a glance but it only took a few minutes of the kitten face before they readily agreed. Alicia and high-fived under the table; Landon and Chris had been the first two to cave.

With the plans in place, we continued to explore. Everything was interesting. And I mean everything. From the silken color of the summer sky down to the dirt scattered across the street. Alicia and I would often pull out one of our miniature composition notebooks and scribble down miscellaneous descriptions. We would eventually compact everything we wrote down, switching out different things for the best ways to word it until we had a little pack of the best descriptions we could think of for everything. And, as a bonus, we could make a story out of it at a later date.

A definite bonus, alright.

Eventually, we came across a little souvenir shop and went inside. All of us ended up getting different key-chains. Mine was a set of maracas on top of the Mexican flag. Landon's was a sombrero. Typical Derrick had gotten a taco. Alicia had a type of Mexican flower, and Kristen had a similar one. Chris got one in the shape of the country. Josh's said 'Hola!" in wavy letters. Olivia's had a symbol for the Spanish holiday similar to Halloween: The Day of the Dead.

We did a lot more exploring. Landon got a couple videos of us screwing around, and a good hundred photos were probably taken.

It was a favorable outing.

…

"Alright, what do you think?" I asked Alicia.

She turned to me, her red dress swishing around right above her knees.

I was wearing a Forever 21 "glistening waist dress." It was black with a V-neck like dip and wide shoulder straps. There was a thick gold bolt of fabric beneath the bust, like a belt almost, and then it was back to black material. I'd put on my absolute prized pair of heels: Christian Louboutin Ulona 140 platform sandals. They had an almost bar-like set of gold pieces down the front and were very colorful too.

She thought for a moment. "Love it, but fix your hair. You look like a poodle."

I laughed and did as I was told. She had put her hair into a loose fishtail and twist it up into a loose bun.

"Are we ready then?" she asked.

Kristen and Olivia walked in. Olivia was in a pastel pink number, Kristen in sage green.

"We most definitely are," Olivia giggled.

"And the guys are getting impatient. Landon and Derrick tied a pair of socks into a ball and have been throwing it back and forth for fifteen minutes. Meanwhile, Chris and Josh are taking turns trying to come up with the best horror story. They're both failing," Kristen giggled.

"And how do you know this?" I inquired.

"We got ready in the bathroom, and walked out in bathrobes. We could hear them the whole time," Olivia inserted.

I laughed a little and then we all went out. The guys were impatiently waiting in the hallway, loudly discussing a football (or hand-egg, as I called it.) that had been on almost two weeks ago.

Alicia clapped to get their attention. It worked and I had to keep myself from snickering. She had Chris's attention in a snap, and with his sudden silence, the attention hit us full-force.

Derrick wolf-whistled, smirking when Kristen gave him a deeply disturbed look. Josh took Olivia by the hand, kissing it with his usual dramatic flair, and leading her off. Kristen and Derrick followed. Chris held out his arm, letting Alicia hold his elbow, and led her off with a drawling, "M'lady."

Landon eyes swept over me and he gave one of his impeccable smiles. "You look gorgeous," he stated simply, holding out his hand. "Shall we go?"

I laughed. "You don't look so bad yourself." I took his hand. "And we shall."

We got to the room quickly to find it already mostly full. The others had already disappeared into the crowd.

He leaned down next to my ear just as the song stopped and moved into a slow one. "Dance with me."

I complied with a gentle smile.

The mysterious, utterly tantalizing scent of his cologne flooded my senses when we were dancing so delectably close. He leaned down, giving me a soft kiss. It was easy enough to sway to the music. And sway we did.

When the song changed again, the atmosphere jumped off the diving board and straight into excited. Drinks were passed around, food eaten on the tables that lined the edge of the dance floor, and music pulsated through the air. Laughter and the buzzing sound of voices echoed in my ears.

Derrick came up at some point. Apparently, it was a simple switch. Kristen and Landon ended up dancing while Derrick took over the position as a mildly slow song came over. It was somewhere between ballroom and full-on party music. He spun me around.

Out of nowhere, he leaned down and _sniffed_ my shoulder. I gave him an awkward glance.

"You must've been dancing really close to Landon for quite a while," he remarked.

"Why do you say that?" I countered, confused.

"You smell like him. Ergo, you smell like a dude. Or, whatever Landon is."

I rolled my eyes. "You're so immature sometimes. We're both well aware that he's a guy. Especially me."

He wrinkled his nose. "Gross."

"One-track mind. But, yeah, that too. I mean, no amount of denim can hide it completely. At least, that's how Kristen words it."

He seemed satisfied with the answer. "Fine then. So, you two are pretty serious, then?"

I almost whacked him. Almost. "No, we actually hate each other," I responded.

It was his turn to give a roll of the eyes. "I just thought I'd make pleasant conversation. But _no_, we can't have that, can we?"

"Oh, shut up and dance."

"Aye, aye, captain."

…

**A/N: I don't even know what to say about this. But whatever. Happy update? I'm sorry to say, but I think this is going to stop early: after the cruise is over. It's hard to really gage the ending of their story. If I wrote their whole life, it would take me years. So. Just a warning. **

**And thank you guys so much for still being there and giving support. I really appreciate it. :)  
><strong>

**Drop a note?  
><strong>

**Smile, always.**

**i'll be a runaway**


	18. ChapterEighteen: Everybody Talks

**ChapterEighteen: Everybody Talks**

_**A/N: by Neon Trees  
><strong>_**…**

**Open Sea  
>Sun-Ship<br>Tuesday, July 24  
>9:00p.m.<strong>

**MB;**

"Alright, explain this idea to me again," Alicia replied.

I nodded. "Okay, so the parents thought their little girl was kidnapped, but she was really murdered. Her spirit stays behind at the family's market stand, stuck forever until they know the truth. A native, touring her own home because she'd grown up in California, can see her. When she asks the family about the little girl, they're grief-stricken and claim the native is evil. From there, she uses her own talent and a background of watching too many crime shows to unravel the truth behind the girl."

She grinned. The two of us were sitting on my bed. The boys were screwing around in Derrick and Kristen's room, and Olivia and Kristen were on the floor discussing nail polish trends.

"And maybe," she added, "the little girl's killer also has a horrifying secret. Like… like he had to kill the girl because otherwise he was going to get killed himself. But he did it wrong, so he still got killed."

"I _love_ it. And to finish, the original man who started it could have a showdown with the native. She's going to need a name though."

Alicia laughed. "Yeah, we won't get far without one."

She glanced over at the door. "Good God, what are they doing?"

The four of the guys were by the doorway, whacking each other.

"Are they playing guy-on-guy-on-guy-on-guy wrestling or something?"

"Apparently. You know, when you say 'on-guy' so many times, it almost sounds like you're trying to say 'on-guard' with some sort of accent we've never encountered before."

"Or fungi."

"Ew, Mass. No."

I laughed at her antics.

Kristen turned to us. "Alright, color is totally in, right? But if you're wearing yellow, what's better, blue or pink?"

"Blue pops more, if you have a cerulean kind of shade. But if you went for a pale yellow sundress and powder pink nails, you could pull off an innocent pastel look," I noted, almost as if the words had been rehearsed.

Alicia snickered. "Yet, if you take a navy blue with a dandelion yellow top and white shorts, you could add some dark blue details too and it would look totally cute."

"Blue has more votes!" Kristen proclaimed.

"You just don't like pink," Olivia whined.

The boys disappeared and then reappeared minutes later, most of them having discarded shirts.

"Derrick brought out the water," Chris stated simply.

Derrick walked up behind us, shaking out his hair like a dog. Kristen promptly whacked the back of his head and I punched him on the arm.

"Derrington, no mutts allowed," Alicia grumbled.

Derrick wrinkled his nose. "Derrington? Can't we forget about that?"

Chris flopped down on one of the floor, pulling Alicia off the bed and into his lap. "We'll never be over that. Ever."

"A nickname that's almost as old as you are," Josh sang, patting his back. He flopped down next to Olivia and ruffled her hair affectionately, glitter flying out from the butter-tinted tendrils.

"What nickname?"

_Sweet mother of dripping, half-naked Landon._

I bit my lip, looking determinedly at my phone. It was hard; I had 110-percent of man standing in front of me with wet, gorgeously tousled hair and water droplets shimmering as they carved a path down his sculpted torso. The water left darker marks around the waistband of his basketball shorts.

_Jesus._

"You look a little feverish," Landon remarked, sitting down next to me and feeling my forehead. "You aren't overheating or anything though. Are you sick?"

Alicia and Chris, the only ones in ear-shot at that moment, both gave him an ironic look. Alicia, however, spoke, "No, but I didn't know she'd gone swimming."

Chris pressed his lips together to keep from laughing and I had a sudden urge to throw her overboard.

"You know, 'cause she seems a little bit w-"

"No, I'm good. Great, actually. You know, just peachy. Might go skipping later. It's my new thing. Skipping! Yes, it most definitely is," I interjected quickly.

Alicia dissolved into giggles, Chris had an unusually mischievous smirk plastered to his mocha-colored face, and Landon just looked confused.

"What am I missing this time?" he whined.

I shook my head. "Hon, you really don't want to know."

…

"Alright, alright, alright. I'll go," Kristen sighed. "The weirdest thing I've ever experienced was when I was in Target with my grandma. She went off somewhere and I figured she was grabbing something. I went to look for hairspray and found her making out with some old guy I'm positive she's never seen before. When I asked her what she was doing, she calmly replied, 'I'm sorry, but don't be jealous because I have more game than you do.' I was… highly disturbed. So I grabbed my hairspray, told her to call me, and went and hid the bra section."

Derrick laughed boisterously, a silence-shattering guffaw. "Your grandma is so _freaky_, Krissy. But she's awesome. So awesome."

I pressed my lips together. "So _not_ awesome."

"You're still holding a grudge over that?" Kristen giggled.

Landon looked at me curiously. "Hmm?"

"Massie doesn't like Grandmother Gregory ever since she got beat with a purse and called a slut for wearing a bikini instead of a one-piece when the weather was below sixty," Alicia filled in.

"It seemed hot outside to me! But apparently, it wasn't hot enough."

"It's alright, Massie! The bikini was really cute! And the bruise went away quickly," Olivia gushed.

Landon eyebrows shot up.

Kristen explained, "My grandma likes to carry a brick around in her purse. No mugger has ever gotten to it. She just whacks 'em!"

"Remember the time Josh started carrying a rock around in his pocket? And then he threw it one day and it managed to somehow skim his Biology teacher's had and take his toupee clean off," I giggled.

Chris laughed. "God, he was so pissed! And Josh just whistled and walked away slowly."

"I don't think he ever found out who did it," Josh remarked, lifting his shoulders. "I didn't get caught, so all is good."

"Forgetting that. What are we going to do tomorrow?" Alicia asked, twirling her hair on her finger and tugging lightly at the strand.

"Well, we're going to need to get some sleep first. After that… God, I don't know," I unhelpfully added, lifting a shoulder.

"We have to go see the tourist attractions. Like the Mayan ruins… And, of course, we'll have the proper tour as well. Simple, simple." That was Kristen.

All of us were sitting on a darkened deck outside, watching the sky and talking. We'd been out here since around ten-thirty, after the boys had dried off and put on _dry_ shirts. I really wouldn't have minded if Landon had foregone that last step, but I didn't actually say that out loud. Though Alicia had noticed and given me a pointed look.

"Yeah, definitely. Those are supposed to be pretty beastly," Derrick elaborated.

"Do you really feel the need to describe ancient history as 'beastly?' Granted, I think they used to do human sacrifice during times of extreme ill-fortune, but it wasn't common… Not anymore though, so it's cool," Olivia recited.

There was a long pause as we all stared at her.

Kristen voiced all of our thoughts. "How is that one minute you're talking about a limited addition pair of Jimmy Choo sandals, and suddenly give us a completely real fact on Mayan sacrifice?"

"I've always liked history class." She smiled brilliantly. "One of my teachers gave us a full quarter assignment on learning the different customs of clothing and fashion once. It was fantastic!"

"Livvy, we love you," I laughed.

Olivia winked. "It's impossible not to!"

We all nod in agreement at that statement.

…

Later, Landon and I were lying in bed. He kissed my temple lightly.

"Do you ever wonder where we're going with this?" he asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Life. Us. I don't know. I'm tired." He chuckled quietly.

I reach up, brushing my fingertips across his jaw. He hums, looking at me.

"I think," I continued to move my fingers across the structure as I spoke, "that the point is for us not to know and just go with it. I mean, everything's got to happen for a reason. Whether that's good or bad isn't exactly something you can know."

He nodded in agreement. "Don't bother asking where it came from. I'm not entirely sure myself."

"Are you doing okay?"

He gave me a crooked smile. "Yes, I am. Are you?"

My hand moved from his jaw and down to his chest, tracing over his abs. "At the moment, yes."

He shifted a little, leaning down to kiss me softly. "You need to sleep."

"So do you." I tapped the middle of his chest lightly.

"Fine," he yawned. "I love you."

I cuddled against him. "I love you too, Mister Crane."

…

**Belize City, Belize  
>Tour<br>Wednesday, July 25  
>7:00a.m.<strong>

**MB;**

Alicia had been banging on the door for exactly seven minutes (according to her supposedly accurate internal clock) by the time I bothered to get out of bed.

Landon had promptly whined over my absence and proceeded to cover his head with a pillow.

I threw the door open and she pranced in.

"Alicia, just because we dock at eight, doesn't mean we need to be off the boat at eight-oh-one," I reasoned.

"Yes, but you need to shower and get dressed and get ready for the day!" she sang.

"Did Chris slip sugar pills into your container again?"

"God, Massie. Don't be such a killjoy. Is he naked?"

I looked over. "Landon?"

"_No,_ _Barney_," she drawled, giving me a look.

I rolled my eyes, used to the usual presence of her off-kilter sarcasm. "No, he isn't naked. Last time I checked, he doesn't sleep in the nude."

"But he looks-"

"Would you like to check?"

"No, she doesn't want to check. I'm trying to sleep." Landon's voice was a mix of husky and pillow-muffled. "But yes, I'm wearing pants."

"Like jeans?"

"Alicia, seriously! I'm going to shower. If you're still in here when I get back, I'll stick your new shoes in the ocean."

She yelped and almost ran out then and there, but turned to me first. "Fine, but get back in that bed, and I'll tell Landon what the birthmark on your ass is shaped like."

I gave a noncommittal shrug. "I'm sure he'll see it eventually, anyway."

Alicia wrinkled her nose. "True. But don't put images in my head. I'm leaving now."

The door closed behind her and Landon gazed at me from underneath the pillow. "You have a birthmark on your butt cheek?"

"It's not like it covers an entire span of skin or anything."

He blinked a few times. "Have fun with that." He hid under the pillow again.

I went into the bathroom, taking a quick shower and blow-drying my hair. I pulled it into a messy bun, walking out of the bedroom and in front of the closet with nothing but a towel on.

"Now, if I wake up to this every morning, we may have a problem."

I started and then shook my head. "You'd think you'd enjoy it."

I grabbed a pair of high-waisted black shorts with brass buttons.

"I do. Therein sits the problem. I'll want to keep going to sleep and waking up for the simple purpose of knowing that if I stole your towel, you'd be naked."

Looking over my shoulder at him, I raised my eyebrows. "You would…" I muttered.

He kept talking though. "So, did you blow-dry your hair without getting dressed first?"

"It's a rule, Landon. It's a rule!"

I pulled out a loose, floral-print racerback and brass-colored gladiators.

I went into the bathroom, closing the door on him and getting dressed quickly. I opened it back up, moving over and putting my dirty clothes into a separate bag I had.

Back in the bathroom, I started on my makeup.

Landon snorted, walking in and brushing his teeth before he did anything else. It was a habit of his, though I could never figure out why. Directly afterwards, he walked around me and just continued on…

With his morning pee.

_Well, that's definitely a new one._

I kept my gaze on my own reflection, carefully applying black gel eyeliner right above my top lashes.

"You seem rather determined to watch yourself," he teased.

I gave a sound of protest, putting away all of my stuff and adding a touch of Lemonade Glossip Girl.

"Just get dressed," I deadpanned.

…

**A/N: As promised. Kind of meh. And if you found that last part odd (because I certainly did. I mean, seriously), know that I wrote it just to show that they're getting a lot more comfortable with each other. Yeah…**

**Review?**

**Cheers! xx**


	19. ChapterNineteen: Fireflies

**ChapterNineteen: Fireflies**

_**A/N: Ed Sheeran this time, folks.  
>Thanks for sticking with me.<br>**_**…**

**Belize City, Belize  
>Tour (for real this time.)<br>Wednesday, July 25  
>10:00a.m.<strong>

**MB;**

"Landon, stop filming," I whined, covering my face with my hands.

"Nope," he replied, at least panning his camcorder so it wasn't facing me any longer.

Alicia laughed at me. "Shouldn't you be glad? I mean, what if he thought you were ugly and he didn't turn it on you at all?"

I paused in my movements, turning to look at her. "So, you raise a valid point. Landon!"

He peered back over his shoulder, moving the brim of his hat a bit farther down to keep the sun out of his eyes. "Yes?"

"Am I ugly?"

Alicia giggled against her hand, humming innocently.

"Why would you- Rivera, again? Really?" he deadpanned.

She shrugged. "I merely point things out. She takes them to heart."

We'd split into separate groups. Josh and Olivia got distracted by a huge group of art stands, Derrick and Kristen stopping at some huge sports thing too. Alicia, Chris, Landon, and I had all decided to come to some Mayan temple ruins, of which Landon was filming.

Landon stepped behind us, panning across a set of trees that crudely-dressed teen tourists were stepping out of from the path. When I turned to talk to Alicia again, he literally spanked me, and then just whistled to himself when I glared.

"See, I don't think he finds you ugly."

"Yes, but that's just a guy thing."

"A guy thing?" Chris queried, arching his eyebrows.

"Most definitely _not_ a guy thing," Landon remarked, finally turning off his camcorder and slipping it into his sackpack. "I knew this one guy who was petrified of females. Attracted to them, but completely terrorized by the thought of simply saying 'hello.' Which, in succession, was kind of me between 10 and 13; and then the hormones started."

Chris huffed. "Lucky bastard. I didn't hit puberty until I was sixteen."

"Funniest damn thing," Alicia agreed. "He went to greet me one day…" She trailed off and started laughing.

"Guess I'm glad I didn't know Massie when I was fourteen then. I had a rather… feminine voice. And the drop came quickly. I sounded like a wounded animal half the time," Landon decided.

"I still don't get how we didn't run into you at all." Alicia started to take a few pictures of the looming sight before us.

"I went to public school, ADD. Weren't you all at that BOCD private school place?"

I nodded. "That was us. Chances are you might've seen us at a rivaling game or something, but because of our stellar wins, never bothered speaking to us." I smirked when he gave me a teasing glare.

"Our team wasn't that bad."

"How would you know? I think I would've noticed if I saw you on the team."

He tilted his head and Alicia giggled. "Massie and I used to scope out every single member on the opposing team to see who was cute. Never saw a black-haired Crane."

"You seriously looked at every team member?"

Chris sighed. "So that's why you never actually focused on us until, like, two minutes until the game ended."

Alicia just snickered. "Good God, what is she wearing?"

We both glanced over to see Cam and Dylan walking by. Dylan was in a rather bright, lime green shirt and yellow short-shorts, her hair up in pigtails.

I grimaced. "I had better fashion sense on my Barbie dolls when I was three."

"You played with Barbies?" Landon chuckled.

"Yep. And I got Svetlana and her twin brother to play with me. My mother's country club friend's kids," I explained.

"Alright, can we just focus on the temples now? I mean, Barbie dolls and soccer games and rival schools and puberty aren't exactly my favorite subjects. I much prefer Cabbage Patch Kids and basketball," Chris stated.

"Did you have a CPK when you were younger?" Landon asked.

"Fabulous, now they're going to be stuck on that for the next half hour," I noted, nudging Alicia. "I think Fisher's wearing booty-shorts. What do you think?"

"Oh, definitely," she said seriously, nodding.

"That's hot, boo," I enunciated, snapping my fingers and offering an exaggerated wink.

We looked at each other and started laughing almost maniacally. It made Chris and Landon both look back and stare for a moment before quickly moving away by a few paces.

"That's what we are!" Alicia suddenly exclaimed. It was loud enough to make anyone within a ten foot radius either jump, give her a dirty look, or do both.

"Huh?"

"Anomalous. We are anomalous," she stated. "Duh."

I rolled my eyes. "Right, Leesh. While we're calling ourselves thing, we're also Tooth Fairies. And the boys are Disney princesses."

"I do look rather nice in a dress," Chris threw back, quirking his eyebrows at us.

Shocking us all, Landon added, "Bitch please, have you seen my legs in heels?"

Alicia gave me a startled look. "We've ruined him."

…

**2:40p.m.**

All four of us girls were lying on the beach, throwing around various tabloid gossip even though we knew almost all of it was fake. The boys were screwing around in the water.

Thankfully, the day was nice again, sweltering actually. The rays shone down almost brutally, resulting in a fairly large quantity of sunblock that gave us a kind of slippery look. Yikes.

"Um, Massie?" Alicia muttered, sitting up and lifting her sunglasses off her face.

I was standing up, putting a bit more sunblock on my legs.

"Yeah?" I pushed the frames of my own dark glasses up, getting fresh sunblock on my nose in the process. Joy.

"I, er, don't know how to put this."

"Oh, God…"

"You're about to get very wet."

"Huh?"

I really should have expected it, in hindsight, but I was still stunned when Landon's arms wrapped around me and lifted me, tossing me over his shoulder.

"Landon Crane! You put me down this instant!" I hollered.

"You sound like my mother when she's angry. That could be a bad thing. Oh, well."

He walked out further and lightly tossed me into the water. Derrick was cackling the entire time.

Soon, Olivia jumped in of her own accord, and Kristen and Alicia got brutally dragged out with me.

"LANDON!" I screeched, whacking his arm with as much force as I could manage.

"Ow," he whined.

"These are expensive sunglasses."

"_Oh_, Crane, you've brought out the Block-osaur. Roar." Josh started laughing after his proclamation.

It only took a few moments for Landon and I to get into a full-on splashing war, and only slightly longer for all eight of us to be against one another.

"Krissy, ouch!" Chris griped, splashing her back because she'd scratched his shoulder.

I yelped loudly as Alicia shoved me under the water, and pulled her down with me, the two of us tumbling around as we broke surface. Olivia pounced on top of both of us, and when we came back up again, all of us were spewing out sea water and laughing.

Somebody walked by and cursed at us in Spanish. Alicia, being Alicia, said something far worse back that made them scurry away.

"Be nice to natives, Leesh," I advised.

"He was _not_ a native. Did you see that horrid shirt?"

"Okay, for one, I thought it was cute. For two, that's a traditional pattern!"

"…oops. I'm sorry!" she called out. The guy just turned around and gave her a dirty look, quickly walking out of sight.

We all straggled back out onto the beach, Kristen and I falling onto the towels in a heap of giggles. Josh went over, reaching in Olivia's tote back for something. Suddenly, there was a shocking spray of color and splotches of glitter covering and sticking to our damp bodies and suits.

"Wow, Massie, you got the blunt of it, it seems. You look like a unicorn vomited on you."

I looked down, only to see my legs caked in glitter, as well as part of my abdomen.

"Thank you, Josh, really," I drawled.

"Come on, Sparkles," Landon chuckled, helping me to my feet with a halfheartedly hid grin.

"Not one word. Besides, you're the one with a birthmark on your butt cheek."

"I was afraid you would notice that."

"We've got to go before the ship leaves without us. Come on, you freaks," Derrick declared, marching ahead of us all. He was calling us the freaks, but shortly after wrapped a towel around his head like a turban and started going on about hiding Voldemort.

Oh, the joys of being a college student.

…

**10:54p.m.**

"Alright, I'm going to sleep," I declared, pulling the sheets over my face.

"Are you now?" Landon drawled.

"Before I can get distracted, yes."

"Whatever would you get distracted by?"

"The lovely view that this ship has. It's so nice to view the lovely waters at night."

He harrumphed, leaning back against his pillows. "What's going to happen when we're back in New York?"

"I don't know. Finish up the summer. Go back to our dorms in August. Try not to yank our own hair out." I uncovered my, propping myself up on one elbow so that I could face him better.

He sighed, reaching over to trace circles on my arm. He pulled his hand back, glancing at it. "Looks like you've still got a bit of glitter."

"How'd it even get on my arms?" I laughed, quietly.

He smirked. "Josh was still peppering all the rainbow at you from behind while we were walking."

"All the rainbow?"

"Er, bad wording?" He pulled a face. "What are you, the grammar police?"

"Yes, I am. Therefore, you now have to call me Captain Block."

I moved over, straddling his waist and leaning down so our noses were almost touching. "And you have to salute me."

"I'm not sure I'll be able to get my hand in place from this position," he muttered, the lowness of his voice sending chills down my spine.

But in a good way, mind you.

He leant up, our lips catching slowly. He still tasted vaguely of spearmint toothpaste, the salty scent of the sea still clinging to his skin.

It was moments like that that I treasured. Some days, the frantic, needy kisses were what claimed me, but I could always come back to his slow, gentle softness and be reminded that this was the guy I'd fallen in love with. That somehow, above anybody else, he'd broken me down and fit the pieces back into the right order with careful hands. It was crazy. Or heading away from crazy and diving into insane. But I welcomed it. And I'd never felt so close to another male on a physical and mental level in my life. Granted, I'd had my share of jerks and assholes. I'd often wondered why in the world everything had to pass, with us so utterly close together in the same town without knowing either existed. Yet, my mind always came back to the same thing: I would've looked him over. I would've known he was cute, but assumed that he was just another one of the ADD brats that I'd dated once before. No offense to him, of course, but several of the males from around that grade level were asses. Nothing else to say about it.

Our lips separated and he pulled me lightly into his side.

"We'll make it," he stated quietly, determinedly. He kisses my cheek lightly, one of his arms snaking under the pillows and the other wrapping around my waist. "I can feel it."

…

_**A/N: **_**For some reason, I can never remember the way I set these things up. So, if this is different, my bad. Feel free to just skip the mildly longer-than-average note to follow.**

**For one, so sorry about the lateness. If you read the note I posted, than you know it was because I didn't have all the details, because one document, **_**one**_**, was on my laptop. I got it back this morning, and the speakers are completely amazing now. So, in honor of all that, I wrote you guys a chapter.**

**Also, if there are any slip ups and the tense goes into present, I'm sorry. I'm used to slipping into present because of _RiaM_, but I do think I got it all. Please let me know if I did happen to miss something, and I'll definitely go back and fix it.  
><strong>

**The song pertains more to the softness of their relationship than the story itself, to clarify. After Belize, we have two more stops, open sea, and then they're back in floor. So, two to three chapters. I think I'll leave it off with a grandiose epilogue, guys. It's been fabulous writing this story, and thanks so much to everyone who's stuck with me.**

**Let me know what you think!**

**Cheers(:**

**- i'll be a runaway**


	20. ChapterTwenty: Hey Oh

**ChapterTwenty: Hey, Oh**

_**A/N: Originally by the Red Hot Chili Peppers, but I'd give VSQ's rendition a listen. It's amazing.  
>I apologize if I happen to accidently switch something to present-tense at one point and don't notice it – it's become a habit. Just let me know and I'll take care of it.<br>Here we are..**_

…

**Roatan, Bay Islands, Honduras  
>Wandering Around<br>Thursday, July 26  
>12:17p.m.<strong>

**MB;**

"I don't know why I let you talk me into this."

"Oh, just get in the water," Kristen stated, pushing me in.

On reflex, thankfully, I'd thrown my arms into a point and managed to land in the water somewhat gracefully, popping back up and glaring at her. Our instructor just hid a laugh.

Kristen wanted to go scuba-diving, since she'd never done it before, but nobody else was willing to over themselves over to the horror of Kristen and sports. Thus, I'd gotten roped into it.

She hopped in and our instructor climbed down, showing us a few techniques and helping adjust our masks before we completely went under.

Good God, it was a terrifying moment.

But underneath it was gorgeous.

The water itself was already a very clear, crystalline blue on top of long echo of pale sand. Underneath, there were tons of foreign fish and things in the particular cove; it was surreal. Kristen nudged my side and indicated for me to follow her. I did so and was greeted by the sight of a school of tiny, brightly colored fish. That had to be at least a dozen, probably more, all wiggling around in perfect sync.

A few rocks were strewn across the area too, underneath the waves and eroded by them – smoothed over from years of stillness and crashing seawater. The sun shone through the clear tide, giving everything a shimmering, ethereal glow.

It was magical.

We swam around for a bit more, looking at all the different fish and rocks and sea life. Kristen was positively terrified she'd seen a shark at one point, only to realize that it was just some sort of tropical fish – a _toothless_, tropical fish, no less. I, of course, was laughing the second we were on land again, and she merely slapped me on the arm.

"Well, I definitely enjoyed myself. Watching you scream at the toothless fishy." I made of fish-face, and she finally giggled a little.

"We should probably go find everyone else," she remarked as we change back into denim shorts and T-shirts.

I shake out my damp hair, sliding my sunglasses on. "Yeah, probably. Or we could just text them or something."

I pulled out my phone as we spoke and texted Landon, simply asking what they were up to.

The response I got back was somewhere between fall-on-the-floor amusing and utterly horrifying. It was a picture, of course, of Derrick and Josh in some of the local get-up and fake mustaches, playing what looked like ukuleles and apparently dancing.

"Kristen…"

She turned towards me, pulling her own dripping hair in a ponytail. "Yeah?"

"What is your boyfriend doing?"

I held out my phone and she sighed deeply. "Well, let's go find that particular restaurant, and see how many of the locals have gone into hiding."

…

**2:30p.m.**

It took us about half of an hour to actually find the place. Alicia and Olivia were munching on flavored snow-cones. Landon and Chris were standing back and looking slightly alarmed. Meanwhile, Josh and Derrick were still loudly singing, plucking at the instrument, and doing what looked like a failed-jitterbug around the square they were in. Plenty of tourists and locals alike were stopping to take pictures of the duo and occasionally swear at them.

I laughed, loudly. "I think being the buffer of Kristen's excitement was _way_ more worth it than this," I decided, setting a hand on Landon's arm.

He started, having apparently been deep in thought, and looked at me. "Most likely. It's been almost an hour now."

I turned and made another fish-face at Kristen, holding up my hands like claws. "Oh, bite me," she snapped teasingly.

"Don't tempt her," Alicia noted. "Have fun, Mass?"

"I know Kristen did," I sang.

"Keep your mouth shut."

"But how else will anyone know to stay away from the big, bad fish that needs dentures?"

"What?" Chris muttered, sounding confused by our exchange.

"I thought it was a shark, okay?" Kristen mumbles, poking my arm.

I poked her back and she gave me a significantly harder jab. That went on for a good five minutes before Landon wrapped an arm around my waist, murmuring a vague 'be nice' as he watched Josh accidently run into Derrick and the two start play-bashing each other with the plastic-made instruments.

"Fine, Mom," I countered, scrunching up my face as Kristen cackled.

"Do you think we should stop the guys at some point?" Olivia wondered at one point, throwing the paper cone away. Chris just shrugged.

"It gives us something to do, at least. Even if it is watching the idiots," Alicia declared.

"That's my boyfriend!" Olivia and Kristen both snapped.

Alicia made a vaguely apologetic noise, not looking sorry in the slightest. In fact, she gave a grin reminiscent of the Cheshire cat and hummed directly afterwards.

"Whatever," the two blonde females huffed.

"I wonder if Derrick realizes that he looks disturbing with a mustache," Kristen said after a while.

"Or if Josh knows that he can pull it off oddly well," Landon added.

It was actually kind of true. If it wasn't so creepy, Josh totally had the right kind of face shape and everything to have a mustache. Derrick did not, however. He looked more like the scary man outside the supermarket that children were always explicitly warned to stay away from at all costs. I voiced the opinion and Alicia giggled. "Either way, I'm warning my kids to stay away from the scary blonde man and his scary wife."

"I'm competitive, though not overall frightening," Kristen defended. "I… I can't speak for him with that thing on his face, though…"

"JOSH! DERRICK! GET OVER HERE!" Olivia shouted.

Several passersby gave her odd looks and walk a little faster. Derrick and Josh finally stopped and came over to us. Kristen reached up and ripped the blonde, fuzzy thing off of Derrick's upper lip.

"Ow, Krissy!" He rubbed at the spot as she stared at the thing in disgust and threw it in my direction. It landed directly on my boob and I picked it off with a squeak, stamping it to Landon's forehead. He peeled it off, mock-glaring at me. "Don't bring me into this, Block," he chuckled lowly, pressing it together and sitting it neatly on top of Josh's head when his back is turned.

…

**9:57p.m.**

"I wanted to apologize, for real this time." It's Dylan, I noted when I looked up.

I'd been sitting on a chair, waiting for Landon to come back after he'd gone to grab drinks.

She didn't look nearly as bad as she had the day before, her hair laying in its natural volume-filled waves and a figure-accentuating, mint dress adorning her form.

"He, um, he's stuck in the ship's 'prison,' so to speak. After a turn of events." She rubbed her wrist, apparently a habit thing, and I notice a pale, lavender circle that her wooden bangles are mostly covering.

Cam had hurt her.

Silence.

"I just thought I should let you know that I'm extremely sorry for everything that's ever happened. I've wronged a lot of people, and I aim to fix that. So… yeah. I apologize."

And she had a point. I was ready to move on with my life also, that of which would hopefully have a lot of Landon in it, and it was time to let bygones be bygones. "Forgiven," I declared simply. I stood up and gave her a slightly awkward hug.

"What's going on?" Landon's question was innocent enough, but he still sounded slightly suspicious.

"Times are changing, my dear boy," I told him, leaning against his chest.

Dylan gave a tentative wave and I discreetly swatted Landon's side so he'd stop giving her the look that managed to intimidate and fluster all females within the general vicinity. He relaxed a little, setting the drinks down and loosely wrapping an arm around my waist.

"This is Dylan," I greeted, lacing my own fingers together and resting them on top of his hand.

"Hello," she said quietly. "I really should be going. Have a nice night, though, Massie. I'm happy for you."

She kind of skittered off before I could say anything and Landon gave me a quizzical look. "What was that all about?"

"Moving on." It's the only answer I could really give him. I leant up and gave him a quick but lingering kiss before dragging him downwards to sit with me.

"The stars are nice," he remarked.

And they were.

Great, sparkling expanses over a wide open plain of navy. It seemed to fit with the mood quite well. Lonesome yet never alone at the same time. Landon's fingers tangled with my own and we just looked up at the sky for a while, snuggling near each other.

Things were okay. And sometimes, okay is all you need. A shred of hope towards the end of the battle to keep on fighting.

The Cam Situation, as I'd not-so affectionately dubbed it, was officially behind me. I could move on, and it wouldn't really be able to hurt me at all anymore. Especially with him possibly doing jail time. I certainly didn't mind that. Even Dylan had been ready to just shove the past behind her, though it had surprised me a little - or a lot.

Landon just gives me a quick glance, pressing a kiss to my temple, the stars reflecting in the aqua of his eyes.

Life is a very curious thing.

…

_**A/N: I can't remember how I set the author's note up either.**_

_**Short chapter, yes. More action next chapter.**_

_**And then an epilogue, though it won't be detailed, because you can't really map out the following ways of a teen's life.**_

_**Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this a bit.**_

_**Perhaps leave a review and let me know what you think?**_

_**As always, smile and cheer on.**_

_**(And seriously, give "Snow (Hey, Oh) – The Vitamin String Quartet" the time of day. It's totally amazing.)**_

_**-i'll be a runaway**_


	21. Epilogue: She is Love

**Chapter Twenty-One: She is Love**

**Epilogue**

_**A/N: Long note with full explanation at the bottom.**_

…

**Westchester County. New York.  
>Packing.<br>Tuesday, August 14  
>2:00p.m.<strong>

**MB;**

It'd been almost a month since the end of the cruise. Cam had yet to even attempt to bother me again, and Dylan had even come to lunch with the girls and me a few times.

The boxes sat in front of me, not at all imposing despite the flood of clothing and pictures and books spilling out of them. The party would be starting in a few minutes, an opposite celebration for all of us returning to university.

I walked away from the half-packed mess I'd been staring at for five minutes and changed into a lace-topped, tiered maxi dress. After doing a quick Dutch braid, I grabbed my phone and wedges, leaving the room and walking down the wide staircase.

Inez puttered around in the kitchen, mixing up a pitcher of lemonade and supervising the caterers as they finished putting together a tray of macaroons.

"Massie!" she called, shuffling forward with shooing gestures. "Out, out. Go outside. The party is starting. Shoo."

I laughed, reaching out to give her a half hug before walking out to the yard as per request.

It was enchanting. The cabana columns were decorated with white lights; an open bar was set up with big drapes thrown over the posts; the walkways were all edged with coral- and cream-colored tea lights.

Everyone had arrived: the Riveras, Marsha Gregory, the Cranes, the Harringtons, the Hotz parents, the Ryans, the Ploverts, even the Marvils, and my parents of course. Alicia walked as quickly as she allowed herself to, heels clacking on the stones until she was gathering me into her arms.

"We're going back to Iowa! Are you excited?"

I smiled. "Of course. I really hope the drama is over though."

"Fair enough. But hey, you've got a _man_ now." She nudged my shoulder and then gestured to where Landon, Josh, Derrick, and Chris were all standing together in a circle.

"I guess I do. Now, come on. We've got families to greet."

Alicia and I stuck together, and the other college students followed our lead and split into pairs. It took a good hour to cycle through all of the parents and talk to everyone, mingling over tropical smoothies and hors d'oeuvres.

The eight of us met back in the cabana. Landon kissed my cheek when I walked in, gently put his arm around me and rubbed my shoulder, tucking me against his side. "Having fun?"

"Yes, even though Josh's mom still doesn't approve of me."

"She thinks that you're a fun-suck and stuck-up. She also think you should get out and party more," Josh said easily. "I think it's funny."

"You think everything that isn't funny is funny," Olivia added.

The eight of us talked back and forth for twenty minutes before I nudged Landon's hip with my own and murmured, "Follow me?"

He did, both of us doling out quick 'see you laters' before he let me lead him back near the tree-line where the guest house was. We sat down on the front steps of it, leaning against one another.

He grabbed one of my hands, gingerly tracing the lines of my palm with his fingertips. "You ready to go back?"

"I am. I really am. Are you?"

"Yeah. I just want to savor the last few days."

"Don't we all?"

He hummed, linked our fingers together as we surveyed the party from a distance. The music floated forward, somehow upbeat and light at the same time.

"Hey, Massie?"

"Hmm?"

"I love you."

I laughed quietly, turning toward him. "I love you, too."

He leaned forward, kissed me gently before resuming our observation.

And things were good.

…

**A/N: The song is **_**She is Love**_** by Parachute.**

**Anyway.**

**I felt really bad about leaving this with an open ending. I gave it an once-over and decided that, with an epilogue, it could work without having to forge ahead in more bad, agonizingly empty chapters. So yes, it's short, but epilogues usually are.**

**To anyone reading this, thank you, again. Even after I gave up on it, this story was one of my more fun projects. To the reviewers and followers and people who favorite-d, you do make an impact. So, thanks, again. (Hello, Repetitive Author Syndrome.)**

**If anyone is reading this, then here's something you should know. I'm hoping to find the time to start a new **_**Clique**_** multi-chap soon. It will be a long process, much longer than previous things, but I'm holding out hope that it'll be worth it. I have ideas, and I want to know what you guys think is best.**

**Ideas:  
><strong>_**One.**_** An untitled work in which Massie, who lives in London or elsewhere, moves to Westchester with her godmother Celia and Celia's son, Landon, for her senior year after her parents passed a few (say five) months earlier. Could be adapted to fit Dylan/Josh.**

_**Two. **_**A revamp of an old story (whose name I can't remember but was taken down). Used to be Massie owns a modeling company, Landon was her ex and also the new photographer, etc. This version would feature a fresh-out-of-college (most likely that time frame) taking over her mother's design company. Landon would be her ex, but would have a different position. Conflict centers around her relationship and the learning process of controlling a fashion empire.**

_**Three**_**. A rewrite of the original _A Light in the Dark_, utilizing the majority of the same plot just with a lot of editing overhaul. Also, the original would coexist with it's new version if that's what's wanted.****  
><strong>

_**Four.**_**Anything else that may come to mind-I have a habit of changing things last minute. Whoops.**

**If anything sounds interesting and you'd like me to get started, feel free to message or review letting me know if there are these ideas you'd like to see, or some one-shot things, or any specific pairings.**

**This will most likely be the last time I post on this story.**

**Yours truly.**

**Laur. (and the whispers commence)**


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